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S.  Watson  Reid. 


^^^"/^e  sure  ^nu  „>e  ri(/Jit,  then  <j<>  o/i.-n,/.'^^ 


C6e  Lilirarp 

of  t|)e 

Onitietsitp  of  il3ott|)  Carolina 


Collection  of  ilJortfi  Caroliniana 
'^^10  fioott  toa0  pte0ettteti 


I    .i-' 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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Lihvary  huUding. 


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C3iapel|Hiii  Library  and 


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Carolina 
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A  SHUTCH  OF 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


REV.  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

NEAR    SIXTY    TEARS    PASTOR    OF   THE    CHURCHES 
OF    BUFFALO    AND   ALAMANCE.. 


INCLUDING 

TWO  OP  HIS  SERMONS ;  SOME  ACCOUNT  OP  THE  REGULATION^ 
TOGETHER  WITH  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  TRANSACTIONS  AND 
INCIDENTS  IN  WHICH  HE  WAS  CONCERNED  ;  AND  A  VERY  BRIEP 
NOTICE  OF  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  AND  MORAL  CONDITION  OP 
NORTH-CAROLINA    WHILE     IN    ITS    COLONIAL    STATE. 


BY  TIIE  REV.  E.  W.  CARIITHER^^  A.M. 


GREENSBOROXTGH, ».  €. 

PlUNTED  BY  SWAIM  AND  TS-HERWOOD. 

1S42; 


-V       ' 


•  v\  *'#iV 


^   >^    ^  ^-»^«¥%>i%  %  *V^^  ^  ^ 


c^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1842, 

BY    THE    AUTHOR, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  North  CaroHna. 


^7<)6^ 


PREFACE. 

The  following  account  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  in  connex- 
ion with  the  Presbyterian  church,  was  not,  in  the  first  instance, 
intended  or  thought  of  for  publication ;  but  the  author  began, 
about  a  year  ago,  to  inquire  into  his  character  and  to  gather  up 
some  facts  in  his  history,  which  were  still  circulating  in  his  neigh- 
borhood as  a  kind  of  floating  capital  for  conversation,  partly  in 
compliance  with  the  wishes  of  two  or  three  individuals  who  felt 
some  interest  in  the  matter,  and  partly  to  gratify  a  natural  curi- 
osity and  find  employment  for  a  portion  of  time  which,  owing  to 
some  peculiar  circumstances,  might  otherwise  have  been  spent 
in  mental  inactivity,  or  to  very  little  profit.  Finding  however 
that  his  interest  increased  with  his  progress,  and  that,  when  the 
first  few  sheets  of  collected  materials  were  read  to  the  same 
individuals  above  referred  to,  the  effect  was  the  same  on  them, 
he  was  induced,  by  their  solicitations  and  by  the  growing  in- 
terest which  he  felt  himself,  to  extend  and  continue  his  re- 
searches until  all  the  materials  might  be  collected  that  could  be 
found.  Having  done  so,  it  was  their  opinion,  and  the  opinion  of 
some  others  who  were  then  consulted,  that  they  ought  to  be  put 
into  a  more  durable  form  and  given  to  the  public,  believing  that 
it  was  due  both  to  his  memory  and  to  the  community  in  which  he 
had  lived.  How  far  the  memoir,  thus  prepared,  and  now  laid 
before  the  public,  may  be  acceptable,  remains  to  be  seen ;  but 
the  object  of  the  writer  has  been  to  preserve  and  extend,  so  far 
as  he  could,  a  knowledge  of  the  character  and  services  of  one 
who  ought  never  to  be  forgotten  in  a  country  to  the  improvement 
and  welfare  of  which  his  life  was  devoted. 

There  may  have  been  others  in  the  country,  belonging  to  the 
same  period,  who  were  equally  entitled  to  the  gratitude  and  ven- 
eration of  posterity ;  but  my  location  on  the  same  ground  which 


JV  *  PREFACE. 

had  formerly  been  the  scene  of  his  labors  gave  me  a  better  op- 
portunity perhaps  of  becoming  acquainted  with  his  history  than 
any  other  person,  and,  whether  this  made  it  my  duty  or  not,  it 
seemed  to  devolve  on  me  the  task  of  writing  his  life  if  it  was  to  be 
done  at  all.  The  employment  has  been  thus  far  pleasant  and 
profitable  to  myself;  and  no  regret  has  been  felt  on  my  part, 
except  that  it  had  not  fallen  into  the  hands  of  some  one  who 
was  more  capable  of  doing  justice  to  the  subject. 

It  ought  to  be  stated  that,  for  reasons  which  will  be  found  in 
their  proper  place,  there  was  a  want  of  materials  for  a  minute 
and  full  biography  ;  and  therefore  nothing  more  has  been  pro- 
posed than  to  give  a  mere  sketch,  or  general  account  of  his  life. 
The  materials  for  this  have  been  obtained  from  different  sources  : 
Some  tilings  have  been  taken  from  the  records  of  the  church  ju- 
dicatories to  Avhich  he  belonged ;  others  from  communications 
furnished  by  two  or  three  of  his  oldest  pupils  who  are  yet  living, 
which  are  hereby  most  cheerfully  and  gratefully  acknowledged  ; 
and  a  few  more  have  been  gathered  in  conversation  with  the 
most  aged  people  in  his  congregations ;  but  the  principal  part  has 
been  furnished  by  the  surviving  members  of  his  family. 

If  any  apology  should  be  expected  for  occupying  so  much 
space  with  certain  matters,  such  as  the  Regulation,  and  the  Ec- 
clesiastical condition  of  the  country  previous  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  which  have  only  a  remote,  if  any,  connexion 
with  the  main  subject,  and  which  may  be  thouglit  to  belong  more 
properly  to  the  department  of  general  history,  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  say,  that  they  are  matters  of  much  interest,  and  that 
they  are  but  little  known.  They  may  perhaps  be  familiar  to  a 
few  men  of  education  and  general  reading ;  but  to  the  community 
at  large,  if  known  at  all,  they  are  little  more  than  tales  of  the 
nursery ;  yet  they  are  certainly  more  important  than  the  minute 
details  of  juvenile  peculiarities  and  the  every  day  occurrences  of 
ordinary  life,  which,  with  slight  variations,  form  so  largo  a  part 


i)i' most  biographies;  and  tlierefore  the  present  ]>lan  would  liave 
been  adopted,  imder  the  existing  circiinistances  of  tlie  country, 
if  biographical  materials  had  existed  in  abundance,  and  had  been 
at  my  command.  Tlie  tilings  mentioned  above  are  not  to  be 
found  in  any  general  histories  we  have,  or  in  none  that  are  within 
the  reach  of  common  readers  ;  and  besides,  in  the  present  desti- 
tution of  such  works,  owing  to  past  neglect,  this  is  one  of  the 
principal  ways  by  which  the  materials  for  such  a  history,  botli 
civil  and  ecclesiastical,  are  to  be  furnished ;  for  the  history  of  t!ie 
men  who  lived  and  acted  during  that  period,  as  public  men, 
tvhctiier  in  church  or  state,  is  in  fact  the  history  of  tlie  country. 
In  contemplating  this  subject  we  are  surprised  to  find  how  soon 
oblivion  comes  over  the  most  important  transactions  and  events 
of  time,  when  they  have  not  been  "  given  in  charge  to  the  his- 
toric muse,"  who  may  rehearse  them  with  fidelity  to  one  genera- 
lion  after  another,  and  to  as  many  as  wish  to  hear  the  story ;  and 
every  one  who  loves  his  country,  values  tlie  blessings,  civil 
and  religious,  which  he  enjoys,  and  venerates  the  men  by 
whose  patriotism  and  valor  these  blessings  have  been  secured  to 
us,  must  regret  the  apathy  and  want  of  public  spirit  which  have 
been  suffering  one  important  character  after  another,  and  one 
interesting  transaction  after  another,  to  be  carried  by  the  lapse  of 
time  into  the  darkness  of  the  past,  where  they  must  remain  as 
though  they  had  never  been,  until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

That  a  religious  establishment  once  existed  in  North  Carolina, 
and,  although  it  may  not  have  been  distinctly  mentioned  in  the 
public  documents  or  manifestos  of  that  period,  was  really,  at 
least  with  the  mass  of  the  people,  one  of  the  largest  items  in  the 
catalogue  of  grievances  which  made  the  British  yoke  so  intoler- 
able, is  matter  of  surprize,  when  mentioned,  to  nine-tenths  of  the 
present  generation ;  and  the  Regulation,  which  Is  now  regarded 
by  our  greatest  men  as  the  very  germ  of  the  Revolution  in  this 
State,  is  t&  most  people  like  a  tale  of  romance.     It  is  said,  and  tm 


doubt  witli  truth,  by  those  who  have  paid  most  atteutiou  to  oiu" 
history  during  the  period  referred  to,  that  a  correct  and  authentic 
account  of  that  transaction  cannot  be  given  without  having  ac- 
cess to  the  colonial  office  in  England ;  but  the  writer  professes  to 
communicate  only  such  facts  as  have  come  to  his  knowledge. — 
The  subject  of  the  following  memoir  having  been  present  at 
wliat  is  called  the  Regulation  battle,  on  the  Alamance,  some 
notice  of  it  was  unavoidable  ;  and  those  who  were  disposed  to 
patronize  the  work,  whenever  the  subject  happened  to  be  men- 
tioned in  conversation,  expressed  a  wish  that  a  pretty  full  ac- 
count of  it  might  be  given,  so  far  as  the  facts  could  be  ascertained. 
For  information  on  both  these  subjects  the  common  histories 
of  the  country  have  all  been  consulted;  and  also  the  earliest  le- 
gislative records  that  have  been  preserved,  and  the  printed  revi- 
sals  of  the  laws  that  were  made  previous  to  the  Revolution. — 
For  access  to  these  sources  of  information,  and  for  some  assist- 
ance in  making  the  search,  my  acknowledgements  are  due  to  the 
present  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  tlie  President  of 
the  University.  For  a  number  of  things  of  minor  importance  no 
other  autiiority  could  be  obtained  than  local  tradition  or  verbal 
testimony ;  but  in  such  cases  pains  have  been  taken  to  get  an 
account  of  the  same  thing  from  different  persons,  and  from  the 
same  person  at  different  times,  whenever  it  could  be  done,  for 
tlie  purpose  of  comparing  them  together,  and  if  possible  ascer- 
taining the  truth.  My  wish  and  design  throughout  has  been  to 
state  nothing  v.iiich  did  not  appear  to  be  true ;  and  my  author- 
ities are  generally  cited,  whether  history,  tradition,  or  original 
records.  If  any  mistakes  have  been  made,  I  would  be  glad  to 
liave  it  in  my  power  at  any  time  to  correct  them ;  and  if  there 
are  deficiencies,  as  there  certainly  are,  I  would  willingly  receive 
from  any  source  the  materials  for  supplying  them  hereafter. 


THE  LIFE  OF 

DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 


Of  the  parentage  and  early  life  of  David  Caldwell,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  but  little  is  Imown ;  and  that  little,  though  of  a 
favorable  kind,  is  not  calculated  to  awaken  in  the  reader  any- 
unusual  interest,  except  from  its  connexion  with  those  events 
which  have  deprived  us  of  a  more  full  and  satisfactory  account. 
Some  of  these  events  were  of  a  public,  and  others  of  a  private 
or  domestic  kind  ;  and  while  the  former,  together  with  the  gen- 
eral privations  and  sufferings  then  experienced  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  from  the  same  cause,  have 
been  long  since  followed  by  results  in  which  we  all  rejoice,  and 
which  we  hope  will  continue  with  undiminished  lustre  to  the 
latest  generation,  the  design  and  ultimate  effects  of  the  latter 
are  probably  better  understood  now,  at  least  by  himself  and  by 
those  most  deeply  concerned,  since  they  have  exchanged  the 
darkness  and  miseries  of  time  for  the  light  and  blessedness  of 
eternity. 

The  British  army,  when  encamped  on  his  plantation  in  the 
\  spring  of  1781,  with  a  virulence  and  recklessness  more  be- 
coming barbarians  than  a  civilized  people,  burned  his  library 
and  all  his  papers  of  every  description  that  could  be  found,  not 
sparing  even  the  Family  Bible  which  contained  the  record  of  his 
age,  and  also  the  ages  of  all  the  members  of  his  family.  Thus 
by  one  ruthless  and  wanton  act,  his  books,  his  manuscript  ser- 
mons, his  academical  and  college  exercises,  and  his  epistolary 
correspondence  were  all  consigned  to  the  flames.  As  he  gener- 
ally wrote  out  his  sermons  with  care,  so  far  as  his  other  avoca- 
tions permitted,  he  must  have  had  a  considerable  quantity,  and 
they  were  probably  valuable,  but  his  correspondence,  whether 
more  important  or  not,  was  no  doubt  more  interesting;  for  it  is 
known  that  he  kept  up  a  correspondence  with  some  of  his  old 
college  mates  who  were  at  that  time  among  the  most  distin- 


.■^  l.IFK   WF  WAVJl)  CALUU  Jil.l,,  L».i). 

guislicci  men  of  the  age.  The  loss  was  to  him  irrepiu-able,  and 
would  have  been  under  any  circumstances  ;  but  in  his  situation 
nothing  could  be  done.  In  relation  to  his  library  it  was  after- 
wards partially,  and  but  partially  repaired.  By  various  demands 
upon  his  time  and  attention,  and  especially  by  a  train  of  domes- 
tic trials  which  commenced  not  long  after  the  war  and  continued 
without  any  abatement  until  his  death,  a  return  to  his  former 
habit  of  writing  his  sermons,  or  even  of  maintaining  any  regular 
correspondence  with  his  literary  friends,  was  out  of  his  power. 

From  the  period  here  referred  to,  he  hardly  ever  wrote  a  ser- 
mon, or  any  thing  else  by  which  any  thing  like  a  correct  esti- 
mate might  be  formed  of  the  cast  of  his  mind,  of  the  tone  of  his 
l)icty,  or  of  die  usual  style  and  manner  of  his  preaching.  These 
liave  to  be  learned  from  other  sources ;  for  during  the  war,  wri- 
ting sermons,  however  it  might  be  with  some  others,  seems  to 
have  been  out  of  tlie  question  with  him,  especially  during  the 
latter  part  of  it ;  and  the  same  causes  which  prevented  him  from 
writing  much  afterwards  prevented  him  from  taking  care  of 
vvhat  little  he  did  write.  YOnly  two  or  three,  of  his  sermons  in 
manuscript  remain ;  and  these  cannot  be  regarded  as  fair  speci- 
mens of  his  ability  as  a  preacher,  when  we  consider  the  haste  in 
whicli  they  were  necessarily  written,  the  burden  of  his  school, 
the  })ressure  of  domestic  cares  and  troubles,  and  all  the  disad- 
vantages under  which  we  know  he  labored. 

A  minister's  talents  and  acquirements  may,  in  general,  be  esti- 
mated with  tolerable  correctness  by  his  standing  and  influence 
in  the  judicatories  of  the  church;  for  there  he  is  brought  into 
contact  with  men  who  are  educated  like  himself,  and  engaged 
in  the  same  pursuits, — while  the  discussions  which  are  often 
unavoidable  on  subjects  of  the  greatest  difficulty  and  importance, 
the  occasions,  of  frequent  occurrence,  on  which  all  the  craft  and 
power  of  the  enemies  of  die  truth  have  to  be  met,  and  which 
demand  all  the  energy,  moral  courage,  and  fidelity  that  can  be 
furnished ;  and  the  ways  and  means  which  have  to  be  devised 
for  meeting  the  various  exigencies  of  tlie  church,  and  for  carrying 
on  the  work  of  reformation  in  the  world,  are  all  calculated  to 
lest  the  sirength  of  a  man's  intellect,  the  extent  of  his  knowledge, 
the  soundness  of  his  theological  opinions,  and  the  ?^att>  of  his 


n'/i 


7- 


I.IiE  OK  DAVID  CAJ.DWELL,  D.D.  f) 

piety.  Ill  this  case,  however,  little  or  no  assistaiicc  can  1)0  de- 
rived from  that  source  ;  for  the  records  of  the  Orange  Presbytery, 
which  was  the  only  Judicatory  on  the  meetmg  of  which,  until 
the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas  was  formed,  he  could  attend  with  any 
degree  of  punctuality,  were  consumed  some  years  ago  when  the 
house  of  the  Stated  Clerk  was  bmiied.  \^Owhig  to  the  great  dis- 
tance, and  the  nature  of  his  occupations,  which  rendered  it  inex- 
pedient, .if  not  impracticable,  for  him  to  leave  home  long  at  a 
time,  he  seldom  attended  the  meetings  of  the  higher  Judicato- 
ries until  a  Synod  was  formed  iiere  in  the  South  ;  and  of  course 
his  name  appears  on  their  records  like  that  of  many  others,  merely 
as  a  member.  But  from  a  few  facts  which  are  iiuown,  and 
which  will  be  noticed  more  particularly  hereafter,  it  appears 
that  he  was  much  respected  and  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the 
confidence  of  his  brethren  and  of  the  churches. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  much  of  our  knowledge  of  his  charac- 
ter, attainments,  and  usefulness,  being  of  a  traditionary  kind,  must 
be  gathered  from  the  recollections  of  his  family,  and  of  the  most 
aged  people  in  his  congregations.  YHere  too  there  is  much  uncer- 
tainty^ ;  for  such  a  length  of  time  has  elapsed  since  he  was  an 
actor  on  the  busy  theatre  of  life,  that  tradition,  is  silent  respecting 
much  that  it  would  be  desirable  to  know  ;  and  the  memory  of 
the  most  aged  is  at  fault  except  in  relation  to  those  things  which 
were  the  most  prominent,  or  which  made  the  most  vivid  impres- 
sion at  the  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  and  their  recollection  of 
even  these  is  frequently  indistinct.  Much  that  would  be  inter- 
esting might  have  been  obtained  from  this  source  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  ago  ;  but  as  half  a  generation  or  more  has  passed  away 
since  his  death ;  and  as  he  lived  to  the  extraordinary  age  of  a 
iiundred  years,  or  near  it,  something  like  the  same  length  of  tune 
must  have  been  passed  by  him,  previous  to  that  event,  in  such  a 
decline  of  his  physical  and  mental  powers,  that  those  who  grew 
up  around  him  during  this  period,  or  who  had  not  known  him 
before,  could  have  but  an  imperfect  idea  of  what  he  was  when 
in  the  full  vigor  of  his  days,  and  ishen  the  candle  of  the  Lord 
shone  uj)on  his  tabernacle. 

Thus  all  the  co-temporaries  of  his  active  life,  and  many  of  the 
most  interesting  transactions  and  events  in  which  he  was  con- 


IQ  LIFE  OF  DATID  CALDWELL,  D.I). 

cerned  have  either  passed  entirely  beyond  our  reach,  or  are  to 
be  seen  only  in  the  dim  and  shadowy  distance  ;t^nd,  although 
the  results  of  his  labors  remain,  and  probably  will  remain  while 
sun  and  moon  endure,  the  biographer  is  left  to  gather  up  such 
scattered  mementos  of  his  existence,  and  such  occasional  or  in- 
direct testimonies  to  his  worth,  as  his  connexions  in  life,  and  the 
institutions  and  common  histories  of  the  country  have  preserv- 
ed. None  of  these  have  been  knowingly  neglected ;  and  scanty 
as  the  materials  are,  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  not  be  uninterest- 

^  •  ^)pg,  nor  altogether  unprofitable  to  the  reader. 

.-  ti\  David  was  the  oldest  son  of  Andrew  and  Martha  Caldwell, 
who  had  but  four  children,  all  of  whom  were  sons.  He  was 
born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  and  on  the  22d  of  March,  1725. 
As  this  statement  rests  on  the  authority  of  no  record,  it  ought  not 
perhaps  to  be  regarded  as  absolutely  certain  ;  and  yet  there  can 
be  very  little  doubt  of  its  correctness.  His  family  recollect  to 
have  heard  him  frequently  state  this  fact  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  ;  and  while  there  is  perhaps  nothing  of  which  the  memory 
of  aged  people  is  less  tenacious  than  dates  and  numbers,  the  uni- 
formity with  which  he  mentioned  the  same  date  must  be  regard- 
ed as  strong  evidence  of  its  truth.  In  confirmation  of  this,  an 
old  gentleman  in  the  south  part  of  this  county,  who  is  now  over 
eighty  years  of  age,  but  whose  memory  is  apparently  as  good 
as  it  ever  was,  told  me  not  long  since  that  he  recollected  very 
well  the  first  time  Dr.  Caldwell  came  to  his  father's  house  ;  and 
that  in  the  course  of  conversation  between  him  and  his  mother, 
when  she  happened  to  mention  the  date  of  her  birth,  he  jocu- 
larly remarked,  "  If  one  died  of  old ,  age,  the  other  might  begin 
lo  look  out;  for  that  was  the  year  hi  which  he  was  born."  The 
subject  was  frequently  mentioned  afterwards,  during  his  subse- 
quent visits,  and  always  as  a  settled  matter  that  they  had  both 
been  born  in  the  same  year  ;  but  it  being  improbable  that  he 
could  be  mistaken  about  his  age  at  so  early  a  period,  and  her  birth 
being  matter  of  record,  the  date  of  his  may  be  considered  as 
settled.  Other  circumstances  might  be  mentioned,  corroborative 
of  the  statement,  if  it  were  regarded  as  a  matter  of  sufficient  im- 
portance, or  if  there  were  any  remaining  doubt ;  but  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  what  has  been  said  will  be  deemed  satisfactoiy. 


LIFB  OF  DAVID  CALDWBLL,  D.D.  11 

When  a  man  has  been  so  far  useful  in  his  day  and  generation, 
or  has  been  so  promuicnt  in  any  way  as  to  fiu'nish  materials  of 
sufficient  interest  for  a  biography,  it  is  expected,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  something  will  be  said  of  his  family  and  connexions. 
This  is  more  a  matter  of  curiosity  perhaps  than  any  thing  else  ; 
for  it  seldom  happens  that  more  than  one  of  a  family  rises  to 
much  distinction  in  the  world,  or  not  by  his  own  merits.  Whole 
families,  and  for  successive  generations,  may  be  respectable  and 
useful ;  but  it  seldom  happens  that  more  than  one  man  of  original 
or  superior  mind  appears  in  any  one  line,  who  can  rise  to  em- 
inence by  his  own  energies,  in  spite  of  competition,  or  whatever 
obstacles  may  be  thrown  in  his  way.  The  greatest  men  whom 
the  world  has  seen  have  either  risen  from  such  obscurity  that  any 
notice  of  their  descent,  or  of  their  immediate  family  connexions, 
could  only  serve  as  a  foil  to  set  them  off  to  better  advantage  ;  or 
they  have  stood  alone  amid  the  entire  circle  of  living  or  known 
kindred,  and  appeared  as  much  above  them  as  they  did  above 
the  mass  of  the  community  around.  These  facts  are  so  notorious, 
and  so  much  observed  by  all  classes  of  people,  and  in  every  age 
and  clime,  that,  in  general,  we  do  not  expect  to  find  a  whole  fam- 
ily possessing  talents  and  making  attainments  in  science,  or  per- 
forming exploits,  which  will  command  the  admiration  of  socie- 
ty ;  nor  to  see  the  son  of  a  man  of  genius,  in  any  given  instance, 
inheriting  the  talents  of  the  father. 

All  that  is  known  to  the  writer  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  family  may 
be  given  in  a  few  words.  They  were  respectable,  and  highly  so, 
in  their  neighborhood ;  but  none  of  them  attained  or  sought  dis- 
tinction in  society.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  was  a  very  worthy  man.  His  brothers  were 
some  of  them  Ruling  Elders  in  the  church  to  which  they  be- 
longed ;  and  all  of  them  were  respected  in  their  station  as  citi- 
zens and  neighbors.  Andrew,  the  second  son,  and  John,  the 
fourth,  never  married  ;  but  died  at  the  paternal  residence  some 
"years  after  the  Revolutionary  War — precisely  when  is  not  known 
to  me,  though  it  was  near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 
The  constitution  of  the  latter  was  so  much  impaired  by  the 
hardships  which  he  endured  in  the  camp,  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  army,  during  the  winter  of  '77  and  '7S,that  he  nevrr 


IJ  LIKE   OF  PAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

enjoyed  any  licaltJi  aftcmvards ;  and  did  not  liA-e  nian^^  years, — 
AlexandeTjJhej!jiiid_son,  married  and  removed  to  North  Caro- 
Ihia  before  the  eommencement  of  the  v/ar,  in  whicli  he  took  an 
active  part,  an.d  hy  which  he  lost  his  hfe.  He  settled  on  a  farm 
adjoiin"]ig  that  of  his  brother ;  and  served  as  a  soldier  during " 
most  of  the  time  th.at  the  British  army  Avas  in  North  and  South 
Carolina.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  after  the  Guilford  battle, 
he  took  what  was  called  the  camp-ftver ;  and  having  been 
brouglit  home  by  his  friends,  he  died  in  the  bosom  of  his  family. 
He  left  a  widow  with  seven  children, — three  sons  and  four 
daughters,  who,  as  soon  as  the  estate  could  be  settled  and  the 
land  sold  to  advantage  after  the  conclusion  of  peace,  removed 
with  her  family  to  Green  county  in  Tennessee,  where  she  died 
0)1  ly  three  or  four  years  ago,  and  where  some  of  her  children 
are  still  living. 

When  his  circumstances  enabled  him  to  do  it,  or  gave  a  suffi- 
cient impulse  to  his  mind,  or  both,  David  devoted  himself  to  lit- 
erp.ry  pursuits  and  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  Why  he 
did  not  commence  earlier,  or  whether  he  gave  any  indications  in 
early  life  of  unusual  aptness  to  learn,  and  of  a  desire  to  acquire 
knowledge,  it  would  be  useless  to  enquire  ;  and  the  history  of 
useful  men  in  every  age  and  clime,  but  especially  in  our  own 
country,  admonishes  us  not  to  attach  too  much  importance  to 
what  passes  in  early  life.  The  names  of  a  man's  parents,  the 
date  of  his  birth,  and  the  incidents  of  his  childhood,  are  matters 
which,  however  they  may  gratify  a  natural,  and  to  some  extent, 
perhaps,  a  laudable  curiosity,  can  add  but  little  to  the  stock  of 
useful  knowledge.  It  is  to  tlie  character  and  principles  of  the 
man,  and  to  the  amount  of  good  which  he  has  accomplished  in 
the  world,  that  our  attention  must  be  chiefly  directed  ;  for  the 
benefits  which  he  confers  upon  society,  of  whatever  kind,  are 
the  measure  of  his  Avorth  as  a  member  of  that  society  ;  and  for 
these  alone  can  he  have  any  claim  upon  our  gratitude  ;  while 
the  early  promises  of  childhood  are  often  falacious,  and  are  sel- 
dom realized  in  after  life  to  the  extent  of  the  fond  anticipations 
indulged  by  parents  and  friends.  The  precocity  of  genius,  or 
the  extraordinary  aptness  to  learn  which  is  sometimes  mnnifes- 
led  in  cliildhood  ;   the    sjirightliness   and  vivacity,  the  sallies  of 


LIFE  OF  llAVin  CALDWELL,  D.I).  13 

wit,  and  the  various  little  achievements,  of  whatever  kind,  or 
liowcver  displayed,  which,  at  that  period,  are  so  grateful  to  the 
parental  heart,  and  which  are  so  often  extolled  if  not  greatly  ex- 
aggerated in  works  of  this  description,  would  in  most  cases  ne- 
ver have  been  heard  of  beyond  the  walls  of  the  nursery,  or  the 
immediate  and  intimate  intercourse  of  the  family  circle,  if  the 
subject  of  eulogy  had  not  become  distinguished  in  subsequent 
life ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  many  of  those  who  have  stood 
high  for  talents,  moral  worth,  and  public  usefulness,  passed 
through  the  early  stages  of  life  without  exciting  any  unconmion 
interest,  or  attracting  any  marked  attention  on  the  part  of  friends 
and  acquaintance.  Any  man's  biography  must  consist  chiefly 
in  an  account  of  what  he  did  and  suffered  for  the  benefit  or  for 
the  injury  of  mankind.  The  biography  of  an  author  must  con- 
sist mainly,  at  least  in  ordinary  cases,  in  an  account  of  his  wri- 
tings ;  that  of  a  soldier,  in  an  account  of  his  adventures  or  ex- 
ploits ;  and  that  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  or  any  body  else,  in 
a  detail  of  his  labors  and  plans  for  the  welfare  or  the  ruin  of 
others. 

Whatever  qualities  or  traits  of  character  may  be  observed  in 
childhood,  that  miglit  be  fairly  regarded  as  favorable  indications 
of  future  usefulness  in  some  sphere  or  other,  their  development 
depends  on  circumstances  which  are  not  under  the  control  of 
man ;  and  the  fondest  expectations  are  as  often  disappointed  as 
realized.  Men  of  the  most  gifted  minds  and  who  ultimately  at- 
tained the  greatest  eminence,  either  in  church  or  state,  have  been 
obliged,  perhaps  in  a  majority  of  cases,  to  struggle  Avith  great 
difficulties,  and  meet  with  many  interruptions  or  long  delays  in 
t];e  course  of  their  preparation  for  usefulness;  and  there  is  as 
much  variciy  in  the  operations  and  results  of  Providence  as  there 
is  in  creation. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  young  man,  who  had  gone  so 
long  and  so  recklessly  in  a  course  of  dissipation,  manifesting  not' 
only  an  utter  disregard  of  moral  principle,  but  an  entire  destitu- 
tion of  literary  taste,  that  he  was  regarded  by  all  who  knew  him 
as  a  iiopeless  case,  unexpectedly  receives  an  impulse  from  some 
source  or  other  which,  to  the  surprize  of  every  body,  leads  him 
to  abandon  his  evil  practices  and  devote  him.self  to  the  acquisi- 


11  LIFE   OF  DAVID  CALDWELL^  D,D. 

tion  of  knowledge  witli  an  ardor  and  a  perseverance  that  could 
liardly  be  surpassed,  and  he  is  soon  found  occupying  an  eminent 
rank  in  some  of  the  learned  professions.  Nor  are  there  want- 
ing cases  in  which  a  man  who  was  brought  up  in  the  most  ab- 
ject poverty,  and  kept  employed  in  the  most  servile  drudgery, 
without  manifesting,  or  having  it  in  his  power  to  manifest,  any 
desire  to  improve  his  own  condition,  much  less  the  condition  of 
others,  until  he  has  arrived  to  such  an  age  that  no  one  thought 
of  his  ever  emerging  from  his  native  obscurity,  is,  by  some  pro- 
pitious change  in  his  circumstances  which,  at  the  same  time, 
seems  to  work  a  radical  change  in  his  views  and  feelings,  furn- 
isiied  with  the  means  and  inspired  with  the  love  of  science  ;  and 
soon  astonishes  the  world  by  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  at- 
tainments, the  power  of  his  eloquence,  or  the  display  in  some 
way  or  other  of  capacities  and  energies  which  had  for  half  a 
generation  lain  dormant  or  unnoticed.  Again,  we  meet  occa- 
sionally with  instances  in  which  a  man  who  had  passed  through 
the  whole  of  what  is  usually  considered  as  the  seed  time  of  life 
in  some  ordinary  occupation,  not  from  necessity,  but  apparently 
from  inclination,  when  he  has  arrived  to  maturity  or  to  that  peri- 
od in  which  most  men  are  reaping  the  fruit  of  their  early  toils, 
suddenly  manifests  an  energy  of  character  and  a  firmness  of 
purpose  v/hich  surprize  those  who  had  known  him  from  his  in- 
fancy, and  which  soon  place  him  with  the  foremost  in  the  career 
of  learning  and  of  usefulness.  In  all  such  cases  there  were  no 
doubt  qualities  which  needed  only  to  be  placed  in  circumstances 
favorable  to  their  development ;  but  they  were  unnoticed  by 
others,  or  not  sufficiently  known  to  justify  any  certain  calcula- 
ti;)ns  a^:  .o  what  the  man  was  capable  of  doing,  until  the  proper 
iiiipulsc  v/as  given,  or  such  a  change  of  condition  took  place  as 
waked  up  his  energies,  and  set  him  forward  on  a  career  of  im- 

^  provement  and  usefulness. 

^  WTlie  first  thing  we  know  of  David  Caldwell  after  the  date  of 
his  birth  is  that  in  the  early  part  of  his  teens  his  father  bound 
him  to  a  house  carpenter  ;  and  that  after  having  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  that  business  until  he  was  twenty-one,  he  work- 
ed four  years  for  himself,  before  he  determined  to  change  his 
orcu])ation.     Instead,    liowever,  of   considering  this    any  re^ 


LIFE  OK  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  15 

proach,  or  being  ashamed  to  have  it  known  or  mentioned  aftcr- 
Avards,  he  made  use  of  it  hiipself,  whenever  occasion  offered,  to 
encourage  other  young  men  who  were  in  similar  circumstances. 
Beside  the  testimony  of  his  femily  and  others  who  had  often 
heard  him  state  the  fact,  it  was  told  me  not  long  since  by  Mr. 
C,  one  of  our  most  venerable  a,nd  useful  ministers,  who  lias 
been  instrumental  in  bringing,  not  hundreds,  but  thousands  pro- 
bably, to  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  and  whose  praise  is  in  all 
our  churches.  Having  professed  religion  when  he  was  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  he  soon  felt  an  irresistable  desire  to 
preach  the  gospel ;  but  was  destitute  of  funds,  and  was  too  f;ir 
advanced  in  life,  as  he  thought,  to  work  his  own  way  in  obtain- 
ing an  education.  He  could  not  think  of  leaving  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  to  join  any  other  denomination ;  for  there  was  no 
other  whose  doctrines  and  discipline  he  approved.  Being  thus 
anxious  and  perplexed,  he  concluded  that  he  would  take  an 
English  school,  if  he  could  get  one,  in  Dr.  Caldv/ell's  congrega- 
tions, where  he  could  study  by  himself  and  recite  whenever  he 
was  prepared,  leaving  his  subsequent  course  to  be  determined 
by  circumstances.  In  execution  of  this  purpose  he  was  endeav- 
oring to  raise  a  school  in  some  part  of  the  Buffalo  congregation, 
when  Dr.  Caldwell,  who  had  been  informed  of  his  wishes  and  of 
what  he  was  attempting  to  do,  met  with  him  at  some  neighbor- 
hood meeting ;  and  having  taken  him  aside  mentioned  what  he 
had  understood  respecting  his  present  plan  and  his  ultimate  ob- 
ject, and  proffered  to  subscribe  for  three  scholars  himself  if  he 
went  on  with  the  school.  After  a  pause  however  he  observed  to 
liim  with  great  kindness  that  if  he  could  possibly  raise  as  much 
money  as  would  pay  his  board  for  one  year,  which  at  that  time 
did  not  amount  to  very  much,  he  had  better  go  to  school  for  that 
length  of  time  himself,  before  he  attempted  any  thing  else  ;  and 
then  he  could  not  only  get  abetter  salary  for  teaching,  but  could 
study  privately  to  better  advantage,  adding  that  he  would  never 
ask  him  for  a  cent  of  money  for  his  tuition  until  he  would  say 
Idmself  that  he  was  able  to  pay  it  without  inconvenience.  Mr. 
C.  replied  that  he  possibly  could  raise  that  much  money ;  but 
being  twenty-five  years  of  age,  he  was  afraid  he  was  too  far  ad- 
\anced  to  think  of  getting  such  an  education  as  would  fit  him  for 


16  lAFi:    Ur'  DAVID  CALDWELL,  I>.I'. 

usefulness  in  the  minisUy.  The  Dr.  told  him  not  to  be  discour- 
aged ;  for  that  was  just  his  own^age  when  he  began,  having 
lieen  bound  to  the  carpenter's  trade  until  he  was  twenty-one, 
ynd  then  having  worked  four  years  for  himself,  before  he  ever 
saw  a  Latin  Grammar.  Mr.  C.  in  giving  this  account  added 
with  feeling  and  emphasis  that  if  Dr.  Caldwell  had  not  taken 
liim  by  the  hand  then,  and  encouraged  and  aided  him  as  he  did 
he  never  couid  have  got  into  the  ministry  ;  and  it  is  given  here 
because,  wliile  it  is  a  striking  proof  of  his  generosity  and  kind- 
ness in  helping  forward  others  in  their  education,  who  were 
young  men  of  promise  but  were  struggling  with  poverty  and 
other  discouragements, — a  trait  of  character  for  which  he  was 
remarkable  through  life, — it  settles  the  point  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  his  early  life  was  spent,  and  the .  period  at  which  he 
commenced  his  literary  course. 

Tliat  he  was  bound  out  to  learn  a  mechanical  trade  at  a  peri- 
od of  life  when  he  ought  to  have  been  at  school,  could  not  have 
been  owing  to  absolute  necessity  on  the  part  of  his  father  ;  for, 
judging  from  the  quantity  of  land  which  he  owned  in  Lancaster 
county,  and  from  the  price  at  which  it  has  been  valued  since,  it 
appears  tliat  he  must  have  been  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
Siill  it  migiit  not  have  been  convenient  even  for  a  Pennsylva- 
nia farmer,  in  the  condition  of  the  country  at  that  time,  to  raise 
tliat  were  necessary  to  give  his  son  a  liberal  education; 
Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  of  that  day,  or  those  of  them 
plain  farmers,  not  having  the  advantages  of  education 
jliemselves,  and  especially  if  they  felt  the  importance  of  religion, 
were  not  disposed  to  make  any  great  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of 
giving.a  son  a  liberal  education  unless  he  were  pious  and  wish- 
id  to  enter  the  gospel  ministry.  People  of  that  description,  and" 
in  those  circumstances,  of  whatever  denomination,  viewing  the 
.•'uccessof  the  gospel  as  a  matter  of  supreme  importance,  are  not 
irenerally  disposed  to  patronize  any  thing  which  they  cannot  see 
will  bo  likely  to  promote  the  cause  which  they  iiave  most  at 
heart ;  and  it  was  for  a  long  time  a  very  common  remark  that 
un::ai!Ctifiedlcarning  had  never  been  of  any  benefit  to  the  church. 
Learning  was  Valued  then  as  it  is  now,  and  valued  highly  by 
people  of  this  class ;  but  only  when  it  was  consecrated  to  the 


\  ma  lariTici 
\xhe  funds 
Kind  the  Sc 
Vvho  were 


LIFE  OF  PAVII)  CALDWKI.L,  n.n.  17 

service  of  religion.  Of  course,  parents  of  this  character  did  not 
commonly  think  of  giving  a  son  an  education  until  he  had  pro- 
fessed religion  and  formed  the  purpose  of  devoting  himself 
to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry ;  and  hence  the  most  of  those 
who  came  into  the  ministry  at  that  day  came  into  it  later  in  life 
than  at  the  present  time.  It  was 'probably  for  some  such  reasons 
that  the  father  of  David  Caldwell,  instead  of  sending  him  to 
school  when  young,  preferred  putting  him  in  a  way  by  which 
he  could  make  an  honest  living,  in  case  he  should  remain  a 
stranger  to  the  power  of  religion ;  and  leaving  him  to  take  liis 
own  course  when  arrived  to  maturity. 

Whether  he  manifested  in  youth  any  uncommon  thirst  for 
knowledge,  and  availed  himself  of  every  possible  opportunity  for 
acquiring  information,  as  many  others  have  done  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances, cannot  jiow  be  ascertained;  for  his  history  dining 
that  period  is  to  us  a  perfect  blank  ;  but  from  the  generous  sacri- 
fices which  he  made  to  accomplish  his  purpose  when  it  was 
once  formed,  and  from  the  avidity  with  which  he  pursued  his 
studies  when  once  engaged  in  tliem,  it  might  be  fairly  inferred 
that  he  had  not  been  hitherto  a  stranger  to  books.  In  contem- 
plating the  character,  and  in  tracing  the  progress  of  any  man  who 
has  filled  a  large  space  in  the  public  eye,  and  for  a  time  swayed 
the  destinies  of  millions,  or  who  has  in  a  more  silent  and  unob- 
trusive way  exerted  a  more  salutary  and  permanent  influence, 
we  feel  some  gratification  in  knowing  by  what  reasons  he  was 
led  to. pursue  the  course  which  he  did,  or  to  take  any  important 
step  in  that  course  ;  but  m  this  case  we  are  left  to  mere\conjec-" 
tu re,  from  which  no  certain  conclusions  can  be  drawn"  m"  any 
case,  and  no  confirmation  of  principles  derived.  Why  he  de- 
layed four  years  after  becoming  master  of  his  own  time,  before 
he  commenced  a  cotu'se  of  education,  and  what  were  the  motives 
which  influenced  him  then  to  take  that  course,  are  matters  res- 
pecting which  not  a  particle  of  information  can  be  obtained  ;  but 
on  comparing  the  few  facts  which  are  known,  of  a  subsec[ucnt 
date,  it  seems  probable  that  about  this  time  he  made  a  profession 
of  religion,  and  that  it  was  the  change  efiected  in  his  views  and 
I'oclings  by  the  power  of  divine  grace  which  led  to  a  change  in 
liis  pursuits.     It  hr's  been  mentioned  to  me  hv  ^onio  of  his-  ramll  v 


1^  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

wiio  got  iheir  knowledge  of  the  fact  from  what  they  had  heard 
lum  or  his  friends  say  on  the  subject,  that  from  the  time  he  ob- 
tained a  hope  for  himself,  his  supreme  desire  was  to  become 
useful  in  bringing  others  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  and  his 
subsequent  conduct  must  be  regarded  as  a  confirmation  of  this 
statement.  The  very  first  measure  which  he  adopted  ta  accom- 
plish Ins  ends,  was  a  proof  either  of  his  native  generosity  and 
love  of  learning,  or  of  the  extent  to  which  his  mind  was  under 
tlie  influeiice  of  religion,  and  his  consequent  indifference  to  the 
world ;  for  he  made  a  proposition  to  his  brothers,  that  if  they 
^vould  furnish  him  with  money  to  carry  him  tlirough  college,  he 
^\'0llld  relinquish  all  claim  to  any  share  in  the  estate.  /This  must 
be  regarded  as  evidence  of  unusual  generosity;'  of  the  high  value 
^\  Inch  he  put  upon  an  education,  or  of  his  strong  confidence  in 
ihe  divine  goodness;  for  his  portion  would  haA^e  been  double 
the  amount  which  they  would  be  required  to  furnish  according 
to  the  proposition ;  and  they  accepted  it  without  any  hesitation. 
No  writings  were  drawn,  however,  and  no  receipts  given,  nor 
any  other  security  required  at  the  time  than  a  verbal  promise, 

^  and  their  confidence  in  each  other's  integrity;  but  at  his  father's 
death,  which  happened  soon  after  his  settlement  in  Carolina,  he 
M'ent  all  the  way  back  to  Pennsylvania  and  gave  them  a  quit 
claim  to  every  thing.  As  two  of  his  brothers  never  married,  Jm 
he  came  in  with  his  married  brother,  Alexander,  for  a  claim  in 
their  property  at  their  death ;  but  he  received  only  a  third  of  the 
amount  that  would  have  been  due  to  him,  if  the  quit  claim  had 
not  been  given.  This  he  never  regretted;  nor  manifested  any 
disposition  to  recede  in  any  degree  from  the  tenor  of  his  first  pro- 
posal. 

Where,  or  under  whose  tuition,  he  commenced  his  preparation 

^  for  college,  is  not  recollected;  but  it  is  known  that  before  going 
to  college,  he  studied  for  some  time  with  a  Mr.  Smith,  who  kept 
:i  classical  school  somewhere  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania, 
:ind  who  was  probably  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope 
S;  I)  i.:l),.p.Dt,  afterwards  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 
\\'liat  progress  he  jnade,  or  what  was  his  standing  as  a  scholar 
(iining  thisperiodj.-aiothingisknoAvn;  but  it  seems  that  he  taught 
•  'for  a  year' or,  more  l)cfore  going  to  college.     Tins  was 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D.  H' 

Stated  to  me  not  long  since  as  a  fact  by  a  gentleman  whose  fallun- 
was  at  that  time  living  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  whom  he 
had  often  heard  speak  of  it ;  and  it  is  probable,  fi'om  the  length 
of  time  which  elapsed  from  his  commencing  the  stndy  of  the  clas- 
sics nntil  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree.  In  what  year  he  cniesed 
college  as  a  stndent,and  what  was  his  standing  while  there  Ipr  tal- 
ents and  scholarship,  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining jybnt  he 
was  graduated  in  the  college  of  New  Jersey  in  1761,  the  year  in 
which  President  Davies  died,as  is  shewn  by  the  college  catalogue; 
and  being  then  a  member  of  the  senior  class,  he  was  one  of  those 
who  carried  the  remains  of  their  venerated  preceptor  to  "  the 
house  appointed  for  all  living."  This  fact  he  mentioned  inciden- 
tally in  conversation  with  the  writer  not  a  year  beTore  he  died ; 
and,  although  he  was  then  just  entering  his  hundredth  year,  the 
mention  of  Davies  seemed  to  revive  the  recollection  of  former 
days,  and  to  restore  for  a  time  the  vivacity  and  energy  of  youth. 
Although  the  history  of  his  childhood  and  youth  may  not  have 
been  regarded  as  a  matter  of  so  much  importance  that  without 
it,  his  services  and  his  very  name  must  be  forgotten  in  the  cou)i- 
try  to  which  he  was  an  ornament  and  a  benefactor,  yet  some  re- 
gret will,  no  doubt,  be  felt  by  the  reader  as  well  as  the  writer, 
that  we  have  aot  a  more  full  and  accurate  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  employed  his  time  ;  the  facilities  which  he  enjoyed 
for  mental  and  religious  improvement ;  the  state  of  his  mind  as 
to  religious  comfort,  or  his  growth  in  grace  ;  his  plans  of  future 
usefulness,  &c,,  at  the  period  to  which  we  have  now  arrived ; 
but  we  are  even  here  guided  only  by  glimpses  which  we  get 
at  distant  intervals,  and  which  are  barely  sufficient  to  keep 
us  in  the  direction  of  his  path.*^Respecting  his  habits  while  in 
college,  only  one  fact  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  which  is  an 
evidence  at  once  of  his  strength  of  constitution,  and  his  intense 
application  to  study.  An  elderly  gentleman,  of  good  standuig  in 
one  of  his  congregations,  stated  to  me  a  few  weeks  since,  that 
when  he  was  a  young  man.  Dr.  Caldwell  was  spending  a  night 
at  his  father's,  one  summer  about  harvest,  and  while  they  were 
all  sitting  out  in  the  open  porch  after  supper,  a  remark  was  after 
some  time  made  about  the  impropriety  of  sitting  so  long  in  the 
night  air,  when  he  observed  that,  so  far  as  his  own  experience 


'~(»  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

had  gone,  there  was  nothing  unwholsome  in  the  night  air;  for 
wliile  he  was  in  college,  he  usually  studied  in  it,  and  slept  in  it, 
during  the  warm  weather, — as  it  was  his  practice  to  study  at 
a  table  by  the  window,  with  the  sash  raised,  until  a  late  hour, 
then  cross  his  arms  on  the  table,  lay  his  head  on  them,  and  sleep 
in  that  position  until  morning.  This  was  not  very  far  behind 
•the  most  inveterate  students  of  the  17th  century,  whether  in  Eu- 
rope or  America ;  and  a  man  who  had  strength  of  constitution  to  ^ 
pursue  such  a  course  of  application,  though  of  moderate  abilities, 
could  hardly  foil  to  become  a  scholar. 

After  leaving  college,  he  engaged  to  teach  a  school  for  a  year 
at  Cape-May ;  and  while  there  he  probably  attended  to  his  theo- 
logical studies  privately,  getting  assistance  as  he  could  from  the 
minister  in  the  place,  if  there  was  one,  and  if  not,  from  some  one 
in  the  neighborhood,  according  to  the  custom,  and  we  may  add, 
according  to  the  necessity,  of  the  times.  His  family  recollect  to 
have  heard  him  frequently  speak  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Cas- 
tle, in  reference  to  that  period ;  and  from  this  fact  it  is  inferred 
that  he  had  frequent  intercourse  with  some  of  the  ministers  com- 
posing that  body,  as  Ihey  were  convenient,  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  books,  and  such  instruction  as  they  could  give  him. 
On  leaving  Cape  May,  he  returned  to  Princeton,  where  he  was 
employed  for  a  time  as  tutor  in  college,  or  as  assistant  teacher  in 
the  department  of  languages,  during  the  siclaiess  or  temporary 
absence  of  the  regular  teacher ;  but  as  his  object  in  teaching  was 
merely  to  support  himself  while  preparing  for  the  ministry,  his 
engagements  in  that  way  were  only  temporary.  All  his  leisure 
time  was  employed  in  the  studies  and  exercises  required  by  the 
standards  of  the  church  with  which  he  was  comiected,  prepara- 
tory to  licensure  ;  and  the  number  of  trials  assigned  him  by  the 
Presbytery  under  the  care  of  which  he  was  taken,  the  manner  hi 
which  he  acquitted  himself  before  that  body,  and  the  short  space 
of  time  in  which  he  passed  through  all  his  examinations  and  tri- 
als, are  sufficient  proof  of  his  capacity  and  diligence.  From  this 
tnne  the  facts  in  his  history,  if  not  so  full  as  might  be  desired, 
arc  more  to  be  relied  on,  because  they  are  either  matters  of  re- 
cord, or  are  pretty  well  sustained  by  oral  testimony. 
yil(^  Yv'as  both  licensed  and  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  New 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D,  21 

Brunswick ;  and  the  following  facts  have  been  comminiicated,  at 
my  request,  by  the  Stated  Clerk  of  that  body. 

At  a  nieethjgof  the  Presbytery  held  in  Princeton,  Sept.  2Sth, 
17G2,  David  Caldwell  offered  himself  to  be  taken  on  trial  as  a 
candidate  for  the  gospel  ministry;  and  having  given  good  satis- 
faction, as  to  his  motives  in  wishing  to  enter  the  ministry,  he  was 
received.  The  subject  assigned  him  for  a  Latin  Exegesis  was 
the  Perseverance  of  the  Saints  ;*  and  for  a  Sermon,  1  Peter,  i. 
15.  But  as  he  who  hath  called  you  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy,  &c. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  held  at  Bedminster,  May  10th, 
1763,  he  performed  these  exercises ;  and  had  assigned  him  for  a 
sermon  2  Cor.  v.  17.  Therefore  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  &c. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  examined  on  the  arts  and  sciences ;  and 
his  examination  was  sustained.  The  Presbytery  met  again  at 
Princeton,  June  6th,  1763,  and  assigned  him  for  a  lecture  the 
S7th  Psalm.  August  16th,  Presbytery  having  met  again  at 
Princeton,  was  opened  with  a  lecture  from  the  87th  Psalm,  by 
Mr.  David  Caldwell ;  and  after  singing,  he  preached  the  sermon 
appointed.  At  the  same  meeting,  and  two  days  after,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  gospel ;  and  was  appointed  to  supply  at 
Hardwick,  Oxford,  and  Mansfield,  one  Sabbath  each,  before  the 
next  meeting.  Oct.  Uth  of  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed  by 
Presbytery  to  supply  at  New  Brunswick,  Metuchen,  Maiden- 
head, (now  Lawrence,)  and  Deerfield;  and  when  Presbytery  met 
in  April,  1764,  he  was  appointed  to  supply  at  Deerfield  until  the 
next  meeting.  These  details  are  thus  minutely  given,  partly, 
because  it  may  be  some  satisfaction  to  his  old  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances ;  and  partly,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining,  as  near- 
ly as  possible,  when  he  first  came  to  North  Carolina. 

The  records  contain  no  further  notice  of  him,  after  the  above 
date,  until  May  16th,  1765,  when  the  Presbytery  having  met  in 
Philadelphia,  it  is  stated  on  the  minutes  that  the  Synod  had  ap- 
pohited  Mr.  David  Caldwell  to  labor  at  least  one  whole  year  as 
a  missionary  in  North  Carolina ;  and  had  ordered  the  Presbyte- 
ry to  ordain  him  previous  to  his  going  there,  that  he  might  the 
better  answer  the  important  ends  of  his  mission.  Presbytery 
immeditately  made  arrangements  for  that  purpose  ;  and  assigned 

*Nun  datur  perseverantia  sanctorum. . 


JFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 


him  as  trials  for  ordination,  The  foundation  of  tnoral  obliga- 
tion^* for  a  Latin  Exegesis;  and  for  a  sermon_,  Mat.  xvi.  26. 
For  whosoever  ivill  save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  &c,  \AX  this  same 
meeting,  "  a  call  was  laid  before  Presbytery  from  Buflalo  and 
Alamance  settlements  m  North  Carolina  for  Mr.  David  Cald- 
well to  settle  there  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  which  was  put 
into  his  hands  for  consideration."  He  must  therefore  have 
come  into  this  part  of  the  country  in  the  summer  or  early  in  the 
fall  of  1764,  and  given  these  congregations  a  grant  that  he  would 
settle  among  them ;  for  there  is  no  mention  of  him  at  the  fall 
meeting  of  Presbytery,  nor  until  the  next  spring ;  and  then  a 
call  was  presented  for  his  pastoral  labors. 

July  5th,  1765.  ,  Presbytery  met  at  Trenton,  and  was  opened 
with  a  sermon  from  Mr.  David  Caldwell  on  the  text  assigned 
him;  after  which  he  read  his  Latin  Exegesis ;  and  Presbytery 
resolved  to  ordain  him  on  the  following  day.  Accordingly  he 
was,  on  July  6th,  1765,  solemnly  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the 
gospel  ministry  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  our  book  of  Disci- 
pline ;  and  the  Rev.  William  Kirkpatrick  preached  the  ordina- 
tion sermon  from  1  Tim.  vi.  20.  The  records  state  further  that 
at  this  meeting  he  was  dismissed  to  join  the  Presbytery  of  Han- 
over in  Virginia ;  and  that  the  call  for  his  labors  having  come 
from  congregations  within  the  bounds  of  that  Presbytery,  he 
was  directed  to  give  his  answer,  as  to  his  acceptance  or  non- 
acceptance  of  it,  to  that  body. 

4  It  is  presumed  that  he  set  off  for  North  Carolina  immediately 
after  his  ordination,  though  we  have  no  certain  account  of  him 
for  some  time,  and  no  notice  of  him  can  be  found  in  any  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  records  until  the  middle  of  the  following  year ; 
nor  did  he  become  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover 
for  eighteen  months,  or  near  it,  after  his  dismission  from  that  of 
New  Brunswick,  v  The  reasons  of  this  do  not  appear;  but  he 
must  have  proceeded  on  his  mission  without  delay;  for  it  is 
known  that  he  went  to  Mecklenburg  on  a  visit,  where  he  spent 
some  time,  before  he  came  to  reside  in  Guilford;  and  it  appears 
from  some  Sheriff's  receipts,  still  preserved  among  his  papers, 
that  he  paid  tax  in  Guilford,  or  in  Rowan,  wiiich  then  included 

*Iii  (jiio  fundatur  obligatio  moralis. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  2.) 

lliat  part  of  the  present  county  of  Guilford  in  whicii  he  resided, 
as  early  as  1766.  Of  course  he  must  have  been  here  the  year 
before,  and  regarded  as  a  citizen,  or  his  tax  would  not  have  been 
due  at  that  time. 

^  From  the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  it  appears  that 
he  wds  invited  to  sit  as  a  corresponding  member  of  that  body,  at 
a  meeting  held  at  North  Hico,  now  known  as  the  Red  House 
church,  on  the  4th  of  June,  in  this  same  year,  1766  ;  and  again 
at  another  meeting  held  in  the  month  of  October  following.  VOn 
the  1 1th  of  October  in  the  following  year,  1767,  he  was  received 
as  a  member  of  that  body  upon  his  dismission  from  the  Presbyte- 
ry of  New  Brunswick;  and  at  the  same  time  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented from  the  congregations  of  Buftalo  and  Alamance  to  have 
him  installed  and  settled  as  their  pastor.  The  petition  was  gran- 
ted; and  his  installation  took  place,  according  to  appointment  of 
Presbytery,  at  Buflalo,  March  3rd,  1768.  The  Rev.  Hugh  Mc- 
Adden  preached  the  Installation  sermon,  presided,  and  appears 
to  have  performed  all  the  services  prescribed  by  our  standards  in 
such  cases.  My  authority  for  this  is  the  sermon  preached  by 
Mr.  McAdden  on  that  occasion,  which  is  now  before  me  in  man- 
uscript ;  and  is  a  very  sensible,  practical,  and  appropriate  dis- 
course. At  this  time  there  were  probably  not  more  than  three 
or  four,  if  so  many,  regularly  settled  ministers  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian denomination  in  the  State  ;  but  in  the  course  of  this  year  sev- 
eral others  were  settled,  so  that  if  David  Caldwell  was  not  the 
very  first,  he  Avas  among  the  first,  who  settled  here,  and  made 
North  Carolina  their  permanent  residence.  Having  lived  much 
longer  too,  and  in  many  ways  exerted  a  more  extensive  and 
lasting  influence  than  any  other  belonging  to  that  eventful  peri- 
od, it  may  be  said,  without  any  disposition  to  exaggerate  his 
worth,  or  to  give  him  undue  praise^  that  his  history  is  more  iden- 
tified Avith  that  of  the  country,  at  least  so  far  as  literature,  en- 
lightened piety,  and  good  morals  are  concerned,  than  the  history 
of  any  one  man  who  has  lived  in  it ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the 
opinion  of  those  who  knew  him  best,  and  who  are  the  most 
competent  judges. 

The  people  who  composed  his  congregations  at  their  organi- 
zation were  mostly  from  his  native  county  ;  and  were  here  sev- 


2\  LIFK   OF   DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

oral  years  ])(^lbrc  him.  Many  of  them  liad  known  him  from  his 
childhood;  for  they  had  been  tanght  in  the  same  schools,  and 
liad  worsliippcd  in  the  same  sanctuary.  For  reasons  similar  to 
those  which  have  since  influenced  so  many  of  their  descendants 
to  leave  this  country  and  remove  to  the  far  west,  they  determined 
to  leave  the  land  of  their  nativity,  and  remove  to  the  far  south ; 
but  they  agreed  to  come  in  a  body.  '  A  company  was  formed, 
called  the  Nottingham  company,  which  sent  out  agents  and  pur- 
chased a  large  quantity  of  land  in  Avhat  is  now  Guilford  county, 
on  the  waters  of  Buffalo  and  Reedy  Fork ;  and  when  they  were 
making  their  arrangements  to  change  their  residence,  which  was 
about  the  time  he  commenced  his  education,  or  soon  after,  they 
made  a  conditional  agreement  with  him,  thatAif  Providence  per- 
mitted, when  he  obtained  license  to  preach,  he  would  come  and 
be  their  preacher.  Whether  they  thought  their  lands  there  were 
exhausted,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  them,  on  that  account, 
to  seek  a  new  country ;  or  whether  they  hoped  to  improve  their 
circumstances  by  selling  them  at  a  good  price,  and  buying  here 
Avhere  the  range  was  good  and  land  cheap,  is  not  important. — 
Probably  some  were  influenced  by  one  motive,  and  some  by  an- 
other ;  but  they  were  not  willing  to  be  without  the  preaching 
and  ordinances  of  the  gospel.  They  were  aware  that  there 
were  no  ministers,  or  none  of  their  own  denomination,  in  the 
region  to  which  they  were  directing  their  course,  in  the  settle- 
ment of  which  they  were  in  fact  pioneers,  and  that  there  were 
none  to  be  obtained  except  from  the  churches  in  the  northern 
States ;  and  therefore  they  thought  it  prudent  to  make  provision 
for  this  in  time,  by  engaging  or  bespeaking  the  services  of  one 
whom  they  knew.  \Accordingly  he  came  out,  as  we  have  seen, 
within  a  year  after  his  licensure  ;  and  a  call  was  made  out  for 
him  and  laid  before  the  Presbytery  to  which  he  belonged  as 
soon  as  it  could  be  done. 

N^The  Buffalo  church  was  organized  about  five  or  six  years  be- 
fore he  came ;  and  the  Alamance  soon  after,  or  when  he  was 
liere  as  a  licenciate  in  1764.  This  fact  was  communicated  to 
t!ie  Avriter  a  number  of  years  ago  by  one  of  the  oldest  members 
l)clonging  to  that  church,  now  deceased,  who  said  that  he  dis- 
lini.'tlv  rf'collcctcd  the  circumstanci^  and  that  Mr.  Cakhrell  was 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  2p 

not  then  ordained ;  and  as  he  had  no  authority  to  ordain  elders, 
not  being  ordained  himself,  the  Rev.  Henry  Patillo  was  reques- 
ted to  attend  for  that  purpose.  The  Alamance  church  was  or- 
ganized at  that  time  for  the  express  purpose  of  uniting  with  the 
Buffalo,  that  they  might  thus  be  able  to  support  a  minister  ;  but 
convenience  and  other  considerations  would  soon  have  pro- 
duced the  same  result.  In  addition  to  the  fact  that  convenience 
required  it,  being  too  remote  to  attend  regularly  at  the  Buffalo, 
especially  in  the  winter,  they  differed  from  the  others  in  their 
religious  sentiments.  In  Pennsylvania  they  belonged  to  what 
was  called  the  New-light  party,  or  the  followers  of  Whitefield, 
and  as  they  came  out  to  their  new  settlement,  they  were  led  by 
the  similarity  of  their  religious  views  and  feelings  to  associate 
together  and  make  their  residence  in  the  same  neighborhood  ; 
while  the  people  of  Buffalo  who  had  belonged,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, to  the  old  side,  were  led,  by  a  similar  principle  of  con- 
geniahty,  to  locate  together  and  form  a  society  of  their  own. — 
This  distinction,  which  is  now  scarcely  known,  caused  no  small 
difficulty  for  a  number  of  years ;  and  required  much  firmness 
and  prudence  on  the  part  of  the  pastor,  but  it  did  not  prevent 
them  from  uniting  freely  in  the  call  for  his  services,  nor  from  giv- 
ing him  a  cordial  support  afterwards.  The  same  distinction 
which  existed  here  seems  to  have  pervaded  the  entire  mass  of 
the  Presbyterian  population  which  emigrated  in  such  numbers 
from  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  from  eighty  to 
a  hundred  years  ago  ;  and  spread  over  the  middle  and  western 
regions  of  North  Carolina.  Whitefield  had  been  shortly  be- 
fore, or  was  at  that  time,  traversing  those  States  with  Apostolic 
zeal  and  with  little  less  than  Apostolic  power ;  and  the  feelings 
which  were  there  excited  were  carried  by  the  people  wherever 
they  went.  That  was  in  many  respects  an  important  period 
for  this  country  ;  and  it  might  be  interesting,  and  perhaps  pro- 
fitable, for  any  one  who  had  leisure  and  ability,  to  trace  the  in- 
fluence of  that  extraordinary  man  upon  the  interests  of  religion 
here,  and  upon  the  character  and  welfare  of  the  community. — 
That  influence  was  certainly  manifest  in  all  the  earliest,  if  it  has 
not  been  in  the  latest,  revivals  that  have  been  experienced ;  and 
these  revivals,  it  is  generally  believed,  have  had  a  greater  effect 


\ 


QC,  J.VFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

Upon  the  condition  of  society,  in  producing  good  order  and 
a  christian  spirit  and  deportment,  than  all  other  causes  com- 
bined. 

\  "  Although  Dr.  Caldwell  was  placed  over  congregations  which 
were  thus  divided  in  sentiment,  and  under  the  influence  of 
strong  religious  feeling,  he  managed  so  as  to  prevent  a  rupture 
or  any  serious  difficulty.  He  did  not  profess  to  belong  to  either 
party,  but  to  both  ;  for  as  both  had  manifestly  some  tilings  that 
Avere  right  and  others  that  were  wrong,  he  made  it  his  business, 
as  it  was  his  duty,  to  approve  the  one  and  to  condemn  the  other  ; 
and  by  this  course,  with  his  characteristic  mildness  and  pru- 
dence, he  was  able  to  maintain  a  good  degree  of  peace  and  har- 
mony, and  to  avoid  the  acrimony  and  censiue  to  which  he 
would  have  been  otherwise  exposed,  y  The  distinction  here  re- 
ferred to  seems  to  have  been  forgotten  with  the  mcrease  of 
religious  knowledge  and  the  prevalence  of  vital  piety ;  and 
the  ministers  and  people  of  the  Presbyterian  communion  appear 
now  to  be  all  imited  and  harmonious  in  their  views. 

It  has  lieen  seen  that  in  the  spring  of  1765,  he  was  appointed 
by  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  to  labor  at  least 
one  whole  year  as  a  missionary  in  North  Carolina ;  and  that  as 
ir,on  as  he  was  ordained  he  get  off  on  this  mission.  It  appears 
from  the  records  of  the  Synod  that  he  fulfilled  this  appointment ; 
and  of  course  he  spent  that  year  in  itinerating  as  a  missionary 
llirough  the  Presbyterian  settlements, of  this  State,  including  the 
congregations  of  which  he  soon  after  became  pastor,  as  they  were 
'then  vacant,  and  visiting  the  counties  lying  between  the  Yadkin 
and  Catawba  rivers,  where  it  appears  the  population  was  nearly 
all  Presbyterian.  In  that  regoin,  as  well  as  in  Guilford,  he  found 
many  whom  he  had  known  in  his  youth ;  and  while  there  he 
formed,  or  rather  renewed,  an  acquaintance  which  had  an  impor- 
tant bearing  on  liis  comfort  and  usefulness  through  subsequent 
life.  Having  concluded  to  become  stationary  at  the  expiration 
of  that  term  of  missionary  service,  in  the  course  of  the  year  1766, 
]n'obably  towards  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  though  the  precise 
lime  is  not  recollected,  he  married  Rachel,  the  third  daughter  of 
the  Rev,  Alexander  Craighead,  of  Mecklenburg  county,  with 
V  I  .,,  I  1,,.  lived  in  great  harmony  until  his  death;  and  by  Avhom 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  27 

he  had,  besides  tlii-ee  or  four  children  that  died  in  infancy,  eight 
sons  and  one  daughter  who  hved  to  matimty,  and  all  of  whom 
survived  him.  He  had  known  this  lady  in  her  childhood,  as 
they  were  both  natives  of  the  same  county,  but  he  had  not  seen 
her  for  fifteen  years  or  more ;  for  about  the  time  that  he  com- 
menced his  education,  Mr.  Craighead  removed  from  Lancaster, 
and  settled  in  Rockbridge  county,  Va.  Nothing  is  known  of 
him  while  there  further  than  that  he  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  Hanover  Presbytery  which  was  organized  at 
Hanover  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  December  1755  ;  but  it  is 
not  probable  that  he  was  present  at  the  organization,  though  liis 
name  is  included  in  the  list  of  members  as  he  had  signed  the 
petition  to  have  the  Presbytery  formed ;  for  on  hearing  of  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  which  happened  in  July  of  that  year,  he  fled,  as 
did  all  his  neighbors,  some  in  one  direction,  and  some  in  another, 
as  attachment  to  distant  friends,  or  as  prospects  of  safety  or  in- 
terest directed ;  but  he  never  halted  until  he  reached  Mecklen- 
burg county  in  this  State.  By  that  disastrous  event  "  the  west- 
ern parts  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  were  left 
exposed  to  the  incursions  of  the  Savages ;  the  frontier  settlements 
were  generally  broken  up  ;  and  the  inhabitaiUs  were  driven  in- 
to the  interior."*  Mrs.  Caldwell  used  to  say,  when  relating  the 
hardships  and  perils  of  those  times  to  her  family,  that,  "  as  they 
went  out  at  one  door  the  Indians  came  in  at  the  other," — mean- 
ing that  when  they  left  the  house  the  Indians  were  close  at  hand; 
and  that  they  narrowly  escaped  with  their  life,  without  being 
able  to  take  any  of  their  property  or  furniture  with  them.  Mr. 
Craighead  settled  in  Sugar  Creek  congregation  where  he  lived 
and  died ;  but  whether  he  was  ever  installed  there  as  pastor  of 
that  church  is  not  known. 

While  in  Pennsylvania  he  became  a  great  admirer  of  White- 
field  ;  and  united  with  his  followers.  In  this  country  he  is  said 
to  have  been  a  warm  and  zealous  preacher ;  but  was  somewhat 
disposed  to  melancholy.  It  seems  that  he  belonged  to  a  race  of 
people  who  were  remarkable  for  their  piety  and  strong  attach- 
ment to  the  cliurch;  for  Mrs.  Caldwell  frequently  remarked 
when  conversing  with  her  family  and  friends  on  this  subject, 

*See  Marehairs  Colonial  History,  page  29:3. 


28  LIFE  9F  PAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

that  her  ancesters,  on  the  paternal  side,  had  all  been  preachers 
*  m  a  direct  line  as  far  back  as  she  had  any  knowledge  of  them, 
which  was  for  tln-ee  or  four  generations.  Mr.  Craighead  had 
several  other  daughters,  all  of  whom  married  into  wealthy  and 
respectable  families  in  the  upper  counties  or  districts  of  South 
Carolina  ;  and  he  must  have  been  esteemed  as  a  minister  and 
a  christian  through  the  region  of  country  in  which  he  lived  ;  for 
the  Sugar  Creek  church  has  been  served  ever  since,  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three  intervals  of  a  few  years  each,  by  some 
one  of  his  descendants.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Craighead, 
who  was  licensed  in  April,  1778,  never  settled  as  pastor  there 
or  anywhere  else  in  North  Carolina  ;  but  he  preached  there  for 
some  time  as  a  supply.  Next  his  grand  son,  the  Rev.  Samuel  C. 
Caldwell  was  for  thirty-five  or  forty  years  pastor  of  the  church; 
and  was  beloved  every  where,  and  by  all  who  knew  him,  in  the 
church  and  out  of  it.  At  present  his  great  grand  son,  the  Rev. 
John  M.  Caldwell  occupies  the  same  station  ;  and  is  no  less  es- 
teemed for  his  own  merits  than  for  his  ancestral  recollections. 
Mr.  Craighead  died  in  March  1776  ;*  and  was  hurried  near  Su- 
gar Creek  church.  No  marble  monument  tells  the  traveller 
where  he  lies;  but  his  remains  were  carried  to  their  resting 
place  on  two  green  sassafras  sticks,  each  about  three  feet  long, 
which  had  just  been  cut  from  the  woods  for  that  purpose  ;  and 
when  the  grave  was  filled  up,  these  were  stuck  down,  one  at  the 
head,  and  the  other  at  the  foot,  merely  to  serve  as  a  temporary 
designation  of  the  place.  They  both  grew  however ;  and  are 
now  trees  of  considerable  size.  These  are  his  only  monument, 
except  «  a  good  name, "  which  is  still  remembered  and  is  cher- 
ished in  the  affections  of  the  people  where  he  lived ;  and  the 
piety  and  usefulness  which  have  hitherto  belonged  to  his  de- 
scendants. 

The  industry  and  perseverance  manifested  by  David  Caldwell 
during  the  whole  course  of  his  preparation  for  the  ministry 
might  be  regarded  as  a  pledge  of  his  future  usefulness ;  and  no 
"^pledge  of  the  kind  was  then  given  which  was  not  redeemed  af- 
terwards. When  once  installed  and  permanently  settled  his  ob- 
ject seems  to  have  been  to  adapt  himself  to  the  circumslances 
""Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  page  352. 


^ 


LIFi;  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  29 

•and  wants  of  the  community  in  which  his  lot  was  cast ;  and  to 
pursue  such  a  course  as  would,  in  the  end,  be  most  for  their 
improvement  and  welfare. 

It  was  manifest  that,  situated  as  his  congregations  were,  he 
could  not  depend  on  them  for  such  a  support  as  would  enable 
him  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the  work  of  the  ministry ; 
for  they  promised  him  only  two  hundred  dollars  ;  and  that  was 
to  be  paid  in  grain,  if  the  people  chose,  at  a  stipulated  price, 
which  was  wholly  inadequate  to  the  support  of  a  family.  He 
therefore  purchased  a  tract  of  land,  containing  some  two  or 
three  lumdred  acres ;  and  on  that  raised  the  most  of  his  provi- 
sions. As  soon,  too,  as  he  was  prepared  for  it,  he  commenced  a 
classical  school  at  his  own  house,  which  he  continued,  with  two 
or  three  short  interruptions,  until  he  was  disqualilied  by  the  in- 
firmities of  age.  This  was  an  employment  in  which  he  not  on- 
ly excelled,  as  he  certainly  did,  but  in  which  he  took  great  de-  \ 
light ;  and  therefore  it  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  a  ^ 
matter  of  choice  with  him,  if  his  circumstances  had  not  made  it 
necessary,  or  if  there  had  been  no  considerations  pressing  it  up- 
on his  attention  as  a  matter  of  duty  in  relation  to  the  church 
and  the  country.  But  it  was  clearly  necessary  if  he  would 
maintain  his  family  in  comfort,  and  it  was  as  obviously  neces- 
sary for  the  prosperity  of  the  church  in  this  region,  and  for  the 
improvement  of  the  community  at  large  ;  for  there  were  then 
•no  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  State,  or  none  of  much  value 
and  permanence.  The  legislature  had  done  nothing  efficient ; 
and  there  was  no  probability  that  it  could  do  any  thing  credita- 
ble to  itself  or  beneficial  to  the  public  until  a  change  should  be 
effected  in  the  state  of  society,  and  in  the  financial  and  pecuni- 
ary condition  of  tlie  country.  In  the  impoverished  state  of  the 
colony,  owing  to  the  heavy  debt  incurred  by  the  French  war, 
the  restrictions  on  trade,  the  frauds  and  peculations  of  govern- 
ment officers,  &c.,  but  little  could  be  done  ;  and  then  the  mass  of 
the  people  must  be  so  far  enlightened  as  to  send  men  to  the  As- 
sembly who  would  understand  the  value  of  education,  and 
might  feel  that  they  would  be  sustained  in  adopting  such  meas- 
ures as  would  give  it  due  encouragement.  In  1 754  an  act  was 
passed  making  some  appropriation  for  the  establishment  of  a 


/ 


30  LIFK    OF  DAVID  CAldWElL,  D.l). 

public  seminary,  but  it  proved  ineffectual.*  In  1764  an  act  was 
passed  for  the  erection  of  a  school  house  in  the  town  of  New- 
bern;  and  in  1767,  the  very  year  probably  in  which  Mr.  Cald- 
well commenced  his  school,  if  not  the  year  after,  the  Trustees 
of  the  Newbern  Academy  were  incorporated.     But  that  school 

•could  not  have  been  very  prosperous ;  for  many  of  the  youth 
ftom  the  surrounding  country  were  sent  up  here  for  their  edu- 
cation. The  Kroomes,  the  Whitefields,  the  Hatches,  and  others 
are  still  recollected ;  and  for  several  years  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  scholars  in  Caldwell's  school  were  from  the  eas- 
tern part  of  the  State. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Patillo,  not  far  from  this  time,  taught  a  pri- 
vate school  either  in  Orange  or  Granville  ;  but  precisely  where 
and  with  what  success  has  not  come  to  my  knowledge.  Not 
long  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  an  act  of  Assembly 
was  passed  establishing  an  Academy  in  Charlotte  ;  but  that  was 
several  years  after  Mr.  Caldwell  commenced ;  and  although  the 
school  had  begun  with  fair  prospects  some  time  before  it  was 
incorporated,  yet  it  does  not  appear  to  have  continued  in  suc- 
cessful operation  there  more  than  a  few  years.  Caldwell's  school, 
probably  from  being  conducted  with  more  ability  and  prudence, 
seems  to  have  been  the  most  eifficient  and  the  most  noted  ;  and 
that  its  celebrity  was  owing  to  the  ability  with  which  it  was 
conducted,  there  is  the  most  abundant  proof. 

Being  a  thorough  scholar  himself  in  all  that  he  professed  to 
teach,  and  having  a  peculiar  tact  for  the  management  of  boys, 
as  well  as  a  facility  in  communicating  instruction,  he  soon  be- 
came so  celebrated  as  a  teacher  that  he  had  students  from  all 

•  the  States  south  of  the  Potomac  ;  and  according  to  the  testimony 
of  those  who  were  better  judges  of  the  matter  than  the  writer, 
he  was  certainly  instrumental  in  bringing  m.ore  men  into  the 
learned  professions  than  any  other  man  of  his  day,  at  least  in  the 

^  southern  States.  Many  of  these  became  eminent,  as.  statesmen, 
lawyers,  judges,  physicians,  and  ministers  of  the  gospel ;  and 
while  some  of  them  only  prepared  for  college  with  him, — usu- 
ally for  Princeton,  until  Cliapel  Hill  was  established ;  and  then 
for  that  institution, — ^the  larger  portion,  and  several  of  those  who 
*Mnrfin,vol.2,  p.  68, 13'J,226. 


LIFE  OF  J)AV11)  CALDWELL,   D.D.  31 

became  the  most  distinguished  in  after  hfe,  never  went  any 
'  Avhere  else  for  instruction,  and  never  enjoyed  any  higher  advan-* 
tages.  Five  of  his  scholars  became  Governors  of  different  States; 
many  more  members  of  Congress,  some  of  whom  occupied  a  high 
standing  and  still  occupy  it ;  and  a  much  greater  number  be- 
came lawyers,  judges,  physicians,  and  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
It  would  be  a  credit  to  any  man  to  have  been  the  instructor  of 

•  such  men  as  Judge  Murphy,  Judge  McCoy,  and  many  others 
who,  in  the  same  road  to  honor  and  usefulness,  fell  very  little  if 
any  behind  them ;  and  to  one  who  knew  the  value  and  import- 
ance of  religion  as  he  did,  it  must  have  been  a  matter  of  very 
pleasant  reflection  that  he  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing 
into  the  gospel  ministry  such  men  as  the  Rev.  Samuel  E.  Mc- 

•Corkle,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  John  Mathews,  D.D.  and  the  Rev.  John 
Anderson,  D.D.,  who  died  a  few  years  since  in  Washington  co., 
Pennsylvania,  and  many  others  who  were  burning  and  shining 
lights  in  the  world. 

Such  was  his  reputation,  if  the  survivors  of  that  period  may 
be  credited,  that  it  was  considered  throughout  the  South  a  suffi- 
cient recommendation  or  passport  for  any  man  to  have  passed 
through  the  course  at  his  school  with  the  approbation  of  the 
teacher ;  and  when  it  is  known  that  such  men  as  Dr.  Mathews, 
Dr.  Anderson,  and  many  others  but  little  if  at  all  inferior  to  them, 
received  the  whole  of  their  literary  and  theological  instruction 

•there,  it  may  be  readily  supposed  that  a  certificate  from  the 
hand  of  such  a  teacher  would  be  received  without  much  hesita- 
tion. Probably  no  man  in  the  Southern  States  has  had  a  more  . 
enviable  reputation  as  a  teacher,  or  was  more  beloved  by  his 
pupils ;  and  no  man,  with  the  same  number  of  scholars,  ever 
had  so  few  occurrences  of  an  unpleasant  kind  while  they  were 
under  his  care,  or  saw  less  to  regret  in  their  subsequent  conduct. 
^  'The  number  of  scholars  in  his  school  was  large  for  the  time 
and  the  circumstances  of  the  country — usually  about  fifty,  sel- 

•  dom  less,  and  sometimes  sixty  or  more ;  but  it  is  not  recollected 
by  any  of  his  family,  or  by  any  of  his  pupils  who  are  yet  living 
ill  this  part  of  the  country,  that  he  ever  had  to  expel  or  suspend 
a  student  for  improper  conduct.  His  mode  of  discipline  was  his 
ov.^i ;  and  was  not  only  so  peculiar  that  it  could  not  be  imitated 


.;j  LIFK   OF  DAVID  C ALDWi:i.L,  D.ij. 

to  advantrige,  but  was  so  successful  that  it  could  not  be  sur- 
passed, and  has  been  seldom  equalled.  He  had  a  rod  which  the 
])oys,'  feared  more  than  the  birch;  and  when  necessary  it  was 

^  administered,  and  with  certain  eflect,  but  in  such  a  way  that  no 
hostile  or  revengeful  feelings  were  engendered ;  for  while  his 
scholarship  and  weight  of  character  commanded  their  respect, 
his  affability  and  kindness  secured  their  affection.  There  was 
a  something  about  him  which  was  unique,  and  which  language 
cailnot  define.  The  expression  of  his  countenance  and  his  whole 
manner  were  such  that  with  a  very  few  words  he  commonly 
produced  in  an  offender  the  very  feelings  of  shame,  remorse, 
&c.,  which  he  ought  to  have  ;  and  at  the  same  time  left  him  in 
a  state  of  suspense,  or  under  a  kind  of  apprehension  that  there 
might  be  something  still  more  severe  kept  in  reserve  and  ready 
tor  use  should  it  be  needed ;  but  all  was  done  with  such  calm- 
ness, with  such  good  humor,  and  often  with  such  an  air  of  pleas- 
antry on  his  part,  that  no  feelings  of  anger  or  resentment  were 
excited  in  the  pupil. 

That  this  is  not  going  beyond  sober  truth,  or  giving  too  high 
a  coloring  to  his  character,  may  be  shewn  by  a  reference  to  the 
testimony,  or  the  opinion,  of  others.  Sometime  ago  I  received 
a  very  interesting  communication  from  one  of  the  oldest  of  his 
pupils  in  this  region,  who  as  a  physician  is  of  very  respecta- 
ble standing  in  his  profession,  as  a  citizen  is  much  esteemed  for 
his  intelligence  and  worth  of  character,  and  as  a  man  has  always 
been  remarkable  for  his  close  observation  of  passing  occurren- 
ces and  for  his  perfect  recollection  of  whatever  he  saw  or  heard ; 
but  as  he  modestly  requested  that  his  name  might  not  be  men- 
tioned, I  shall,  for  the  sake  of  convenience  in  referring  to  him 
as  authority,  call  him  Doct.  B.     He  says,  "In  January  1787,1 

•  entered  the  school  of  Dr.  David  Caldwell  as  a  pupil.  I  person- 
ally know  but  little  except  as  to  the  management  of  his  school. 
I  boarded,  from  the  time  I  entered  his  school  until  the  autumn  of 
1 789,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  schoolhouse.  In  1790  I  became 
assistant  teacher ;  and  resided  in  his  family  for  more  than  two 
years.  As  a  husband,  a  parent,  and  a  master  the  Dr.  was  in- 
dulgent  and  kind.  During  my  residence  in  his  family  I  nevet 
witnessed  an  act  of  unkindness  from  him  towards  any  memb'e^ 


LIFE  OK  DAVID    CALDW  JJLL,  D.D.  o.j 

of  his  family.  As  a  master,  in  my  opinion,  he  was  indulgent  to 
a  fault.  For  my  own  part  I  reverenced  him  as  I  did  my  father. 
In  his  school  he  governed  as  a  parent,  without  any  of  that  impc- 
riousness  so  often  witnessed  in  those  who  are  '  clothed  with  a 
little  brief  authority.'  He  appeared  to  be  always  pleased  when 
we  were  attentive  to  and  made  good  progress  in  our  studies.  In 
case  we  did  not,  through  inattention  or  want  of  capacity,  make 
tliat  progress  he  had  a  right  to  expect  or  wished,  we  only  expe- 
rienced a  mild  reproof,  or  a  little  scorching  sarcasm.  When  a 
Ftudcnt  made  a  classical  author  utter  the  most  absurd  nonsense 
he  would  cry  out,  Miirther  dherrig ;  and  then  ask  him  per- 
haps if  he  understood  Irish.  This  was  almost  murder  to  the 
feelings  of  the  dull  student.  I  do  not  recollect  ever  to  have 
seen  him  inflict  punishment  with  the  rod  except^  in  one  case  ; 
and  that  was  on  a  small,  idle,  very  idle  boy. 

"  Immoral  actsanaprofane  language  were  proscribed,  of  course ; 
and  seldom  came  to  his  knowledge,  though  often  committed  and 
uttered.  He  had  a  goat  that  possessed  a  strong  taste  for  books  ; 
and  if  ever  a  student,  from  thoughtlessness,  left  a  book  exposed, 
this  goat  was  certain,  if  he  came  on  it,  to  appropriate  the  whole, 
or  part,  to  his  own  use.  On  one  occasion  the  monitor  for  the 
week  was  a  moral  and  worthy  young  man.  A  youth,  whom  I 
shall  call  Tom,  having  left  his  Dictionary  exposed,  the  goat  dis- 
covered it,  and  proceeded  to  make  his  own  use  of  it.  Tom  ran 
to  its  rescue,  uttering  a  strong  imprecation  on  his  goatship  in  the 
presence  and  hearing  of  the  monitor,  who  immedia.tely  noted  it 
down  verbatim  in  his  bill.  Tom  was  rather  a  favorite  with  old 
Domino,  and  with  his  school  fellows.  We  all  knew,  as  well  as 
Tom,  that,  on  Friday  evening  he  had  to  answer  for  it.  At 
length  the  dreaded  evening  came  ;  and  /  was  pleased  to  see  my 
favorite  prepare  for  flight,  in  case  it  should  be  necessary,  though 
we  were  all  ignoi'ant  what  was  the  punishment  to  which  he 
might  be  subjected  for  such  an  offence.  The  monitor  presented 
his  bill ;  and  a  number  of  us  having  answered  for  our  petty  of- 
fences, and  acts  of  neglect,  Domine's  eyes  fell  on  Tom's  name 
and  offence.  He  looked  alternately  on  the  bill  and  on  Tom ; 
and  then  read  out  the  name  and  the  charge.  Tom  with  the 
quickness  of  thouglit  asserted,  '  'They  are  a  d — ned  creature  ; 
5 


3-1  LIKE   OF   DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D. 

and  I  cent  prnre  it  from  Scrlplure.''  Domine  bit  his  lips,  and 
mildly  replied,  '  Tommy,  Tommy,  there  are  a  number  of  small- 
er boys  here  ;  and  you  should  set  a  better  example  before  them.' 
I  do  not  recollect  any  one  ever  having  to  answer  for  a  similar 
oflence  afterwards." 

The  time  which  boys  spend  in  school  is  apt  to  be  the  most 
pleasant  part  of  their  lives  ;  for  being  then  free  from  the  cares 
and  anxieties  usually  attendant  on  the  public  avocations  of  life, 
they  are  at  full  liberty  to  range  among  the  beauties  of  classic 
taste  and  genius,  and  to  derive  instruction  or  pastime  from  all 
the  sources  of  information  that  may  be  within  their  reach,  and 
from  whatever  occurrences  may  take  place  around  them.  Things 
are  frequently  occurring  too,  either  from  a  mischievous  disposi- 
tion, or  from  mere  thoughtlessness  and  levity  on  their  part,  which 
not  only  cause  merriment  or  reproach  at  the  time,  and  are  ever 
afterwards  remembered  with  pleasure  or  regret,  but  which  are 
trying  to  the  patience  of  the  teacher,  and  become  a  test  of  his 
character  as  a  disciplinarian.  The  above  incident  is  of  this  de- 
scription ;  and  related,  as  it  is,  in  that  facetious  and  happy  man- 
ner, for  which  Doctor  B.  is  admired  by  those  who  know  him,  it 
will  probably  be  as  amusing  to  those  who  read  the  account  as  it 
was  to  those  who  witnessed  the  scene.  He  then  goes  on  to  say, 
«  The  management  of  his  churches  was  very  similar  to  that  of 
his  school.  His  scholars  respected  him  as  a  father,  and  confided 
in  him  as  a  friend.  I  once  saw  indignation  flash  through  the 
school  on  a  young  man's  insulting  the  Doctor ;  and  the  same 
tiling,  I  am  persuaded,  would  have  taken  place  in  his  chm'chcs 
if  any  one  in  their  presence  had  dared  to  ofler  him  an  insult." 

At  that  period  it  seems  to  have  been  the  general  hnpression 
tliat  the  birch  was  about  as  necessary  for  boys  at  school  as  their 
bread  and  meat ;  but  his  family  recollect  to  have  Avitnessed  or 
heard  of  not  more  than  two  or  three  instances  in  whiqh  he  found 
any  necessity  for  a  resort  to  corporal  punishment ;  and  one  of 
these  was  sufficiently  salutary  in  its  results  to  justify  a  notice  of 
it  here.  Samuel  D.,  whose  father  kept  a  public  house  at  the 
county  seat,  was  sent  to  Dr.  CaldAvell's  school  at  the  age  of  14 
or  15;  but  brought  with  him  all  those  habits  of  idleness  and 
(Jissipation  which  he  had  formed  in  the  tavern.     Being  natural- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  35 

ly  what  is  called  "  a  smart  boy,"  and  having  a  good  share  of 
that  dexterity  at  mischief  which  boys  of  his  age  readily  acquire 
in  such  circumstances,  he  was  exerting  a  very  uniiappy  influ- 
ence on  the  other  scholars,  especially  on  those  that  were  younger 
than  himself.  After  every  other  means  had  been  tried  in  vain, 
the  Dr.  took  him  one  day  into  a  private  apartment  of  his  school 
house,  and  there  applied  "the  rod  of  correction"  until  he  ac- 
complished his  object :  Samuel  was  subdued,  and  promised 
obedience.  From  that  time  he  was  a  reformed  boy ;  and  was 
thenceforward  as  orderly  in  his  deportment  and  as  attentive  to^ 
his  studies  as  any  of  the  rest.  When  he  arrived  to  maturity  he 
removed  to  Georgia,  where  he  married  and  settled  ;  but  having 
lived  to  bury  his  wife  and  all  his  children,  he  felt  the  loneli-  * 
ness  of  his  situation  ;  and  hearing  that  his  old  preceptor  was  still 
living,  he  resolved  to  pay  him  a  visit.  His  head  was  as  grey  as 
that  of  his  quondam  preceptor,  though  he  was  not  much  more 
than  half  as  old  ;  and  their  meeting  was  a  very  affecting  one. 
The  old  man  was  sitting  in  the  chimney  corner,  wrapped  in 
those  silent  meditations  which  are  so  natural  and  so  befitting 
one  who  had  served  his  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  and  was 
nearly  severed  from  all  the  ties  of  earth,  from  which  he  was 
roused  by  some  bustle  among  the  servants  and  by  the  footsteps 
of  his  visitor  entering  the  apartment  and  approaching  towards 
him.  His  sight  had  been  once  renewed,  and  was  faded  again 
beyond  the  assistance  of  art.  His  faded  eyes  were  now  directed 
towards  the  object  that  had  attracted  his  attention ;  and  he  wait- 
ed in  silence  for  some  announcement  that  would  let  him  know 
who  was  before  him.  "  Dr.  Caldwell,  don't  you  recollect  me?" 
was  the  enquiry  of  Mr.  D.  as  he  reached  out  his  hand.  "I  do  not," 
was  the  reply.  "  Don't  you  recollect  that  very  bad  boy  whom 
you  once  had  in  your  school  and  whom  you  had  to  whip  so  se- 
verely?" "0  yes!  Samuel  D."  With  that  they  seized  each 
other  by  the  hand  ;  and  for  a  moment  tears  were  the  only  ex- 
pression of  feelings  which  were  too  deep  for  utterance.  Mr.  D. 
then  concluded  a  brief  history  of  liis  life — his  fortunes  and  mis- 
fortunes, his  connexions  and  bereavements,  by  saying  that  he 
liad  not  a  relation  living  in  North  Carolina,  and  no  business  lo 
call  him  into  this  part  of  the  country  ;  but  as  he  considered  that 


;>(»  LIFE   OP  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

Dr.  Caldwell  had  done  him  more  good  than  all  other  men,  and 
liaving  learned  that  he  was  still  living,  he  had  come  all  the  way 
here,  a  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  to  see  him  once 
more  before  he  died.  This  incident,  wliich  is  somewhat  extra- 
^  ordinary,  appeared  to  fm-nish  a  good  illustration  of  Dr.  Cald- 
well's judiciousness  and  success  in  the  exercise  of  discipline ; 
and  of  the  universal  and  high  regard  in  which  he  was  held  by 
all  classes  of  his  pupils. 

His  scholars,  without  any  known  exception,  wliatevcr  might 
.  liavc  been  their  talents,  their  subsequent  attainments  in  literature 

(imd  science,  or  the  eminence  to  which  they  arrived  in  their  res- 
pective avocations,  regarded  him  through  life,  with  the  highest 
veneration  as  an  instructor,  and  cherished  his  memory,  as  a  man 
*aud  a  christian,  with  the  warmest  affection.  The  present  Gov- 
ernor of  North  Carolina,  John  M.  Morehead,  whose  professional 
standing  is  probably  secbnd  to  that  of  no  other  in  the  State,  and 
the  correctness  of  whose  judgment  in  relation  to  talents  and 
scholarship  ,no  one  who  is  acquainted  with  him  will  call  in  ques- 
tion, after  liaving  been  imder  his  instruction  behveen  two  and 
three  years,  and  having  been  prepared  by  him  for  the  Junior 
class  half  advanced  in  college,  speaks  of  him  in  the  very  highest 
terms,  in  every  respect,  though  he  was  then  between  eighty-live 
and  nniety  years  of  age  ;  and  time  Vv'^orn  veterans  in  the  serAice 
of  their  country — men  who  have  stood  firm  against  the  intrigues 
of  ambition  and  the  assaults  of  power — men  who  have  fought 
the  battles  of  freedom  and  maintained  the  rights  of  the  people 
in  the  halls  of  our  national  legislation,  year  after  year,  until  they 
havQ  grown  grey  in  the  service,  have  been  known  to  slied  tears 
at  the  mCiition  of  his  name,  when  passing  in  the  public  convey- 
ance by  the  place  w-here  his  remains  lie  buried,  and  by  the 
church  in  which  he  preached  and  they  were  hearers  from  Sab- 
biuh  to  Sabbath,  \\'Jliile  preparing  under  his  instruction  for  future 
distiiiction  and  usefulness  in  the  world.* 

But  the  most  important  service  which  he  rendered,  as  a  teacher, 

*  Tiie  Honorable  Lewis  VVii.mams  was  one  of  those  above  alluded  to  ;  and 
ns  liid  (le:Uh  has  been  aiinounceil  since  tiie  preceding  sheets  went  to  l)re^■s, 
thore  c-ni  bo  m  iinprnprif-fy  in  thu:^  mcntinning  his  name  hero,  in  ooniiexion 
Willi  .1  fact  go  lionurublo  to  liis  teclin^^s  asa  niananu  to  hischaractcr  as  a  public 
servant. 


LIFK  OF  DAVJl)  C ALDWICLL,  11. 1). 

was  to  the  church,  or  to  tlie  craise  ofrchgiou  ;  lor  nearly  ail  the 
young  men  who  came  into  tlie  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian 
cluu'ch,  for  many  years,  not  only  in  North  Carolina,  but  in  the< 
States  south  and  west  of  it,  were  trained  in  his  school,  many  of 
whom  are  yethving ;  and  while  some  of  them  are  superannuated, 
otiiers  are  still  useful  men,  either  as  preachers  or  as  teachers  in 
diiferent  institutions  of  learning.  In  a  communication  recently 
received  from  tiie  Rev.  E.  B.  Currie,  who  is  one  of  his  oldest 
pupils  yet  living,  he  saysj"  Dr.  Caldwell,  as  a  teacher,  was  pro- 
bably more  useful  to  the  church  than  any  one  man  in  the  United 
States.  I  could  name  about  forty  ministers  who  received  their 
education  in  whole  or  in  part  from  him ;  and  how  many  more 
I  cannot  tell ;  but  his  log  cabin  served  for  many  years  to  North 
Carolina  as  an  Academy,  a  College,  and  a  Theological  Seminary. 
His  manner  of  governing  his  school,  family  and  churches  was 
very  much  the  same,  that  is,  on  the  mild  and  paternal  plan,  gen- 
erally attended  with  some  wit  and  pleasant  humor ;  yet  few  men 
have  ever  succeeded  better  in  keeping  good  order."  The  log 
cabin  here  spoken  of,  if  the  dwelling  house  be  meant,  was  a  tv^^o 
story  log  house  with  a  chimney  iii  the  middle,  wliich  was  a  re- 
spectable building  for  those  times ;  and  the  forty  ministers  whom 
he  mentioned  as  having  received  their  education  under  him, 
Avere  educated  during  or  after  the  Revolutionary  war.  But  his 
school  was  in  operation  nine  or  ten  years  before  the  Declaration 
of  Independence ;  and  therefore  it  can  hardly  be  any  exaggera- 
tion to  say  that  a,t  least  fifty  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  educa- 
'ted  in  whole  or  in  part  in  his  school.  He  was  their  instructor  in 
theology  too,  as  well  as  in  the  classics  and  sciences ;  and  thus  iii 
the  language  of  Mr.  Currie,  "his  log  cabin," — for  his  scliool 
house  was  litte rally  such,  and  his  dv/eliing  house  would  bear  tlie 
name, — "served  North  Carolina,  for  many  years,  as  an  Academy, 
a  College,  and  a  Thelogical  Seminary."  Seven  of  his  students 
v/cre  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Orange  Presbytery  hi 
one  day,  all  of  whom  were  consistent,  devoted  men  ;  and  at  one 
period  there  were  not  more  than  three  or  four  members  belong- 
'  ing  to  that  Presbytery  who  had  not  been  his  scholars.  Many 
of  these  professed  religion  during  their  connexion  with  the  school, 
and  came  into  the  ministry,  thougli  nothing  was  farther  from 


3S  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CAldVVELI,  D.D. 

their  lliouglits  Y»'-hen  they  went  there.  An  aged  and  venerable 
servant  of  Christ,  mentioned  to  the  writer  not  long  since,  that  he 
•recollected  ten,  he  being  himself  one  of  the  number,  who  pro- 
fessed religion  Avhile  in  school  and  became  preachers  ;  and  said 
tliat  he  kncAv  about  as  many  more  who  professed  religion  in  the 
school  after  he  left,  and  took  the  same  course. 

It  would  be  unpardonable  not  to  pay  a  passing  tribute  of  res- 
pect here  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  who,  for  good  sense 
and  ardent  piety,  had  few  if  any  equals,  and  certainly  no  supe- 
riors, at  tliat  time  and  in  this  region  of  country.  In  every  respect 
she  was  an  ornament  to  her  sex  and  a  credit  to  the  station  which 
she  occupied  as  the  head  of  a  family  and  the  wife  of  a  man  who 
was  not  only  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  church,  but  was  em- 
inently useful  in  his  sphere  of  life.  Her  intelligence,  prudence, 
and  kind  and  conciliating  manners  were  such  as  to  secure  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  the  young  men  in  the  school,  while 
her  concern  for  their  future  welfare  prompted  her  to  use  every 
means,  and  to  improve  every  opportunity,  for  turning  their  at- 
tention to  their  personal  salvation ;  and  her  assiduity  and  suc- 
cess in  this  matter  were  such  as  to  give  rise  and  currency  to  the 
remark  over  the  country  that  «  Dr.  Caldwell  made  the  scholars, 
"  but  Mrs.  Caldwell  made  the  jireachers."  The  remark  might  be 
to  some  extent  true  ;  and  the  fact,  if  it  was  one,  might  be  ration- 
ally and  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  without  any  disparagement 
of  his  piety,  or  implying  any  doubt  of  his  zeal  on  this  sul)jcct  5 
for,  apart  from  the  consideration  that  his  time  and  attention 
were  so  much  occupied  with  other  things  that  he  could  not  make 
the  same  direct  efforts  in  this  way,  which,  in  other  circumstan- 
ces, he  might  have  made,  we  all  know  how  difficult  it  is  for  a 
teacher,  while  engaged  from  morning  till  night,  and  day  after 
day,  in  the  literary  and  scientific  instruction  of  his  pupils,  and 
in  exercising  authority  and  discipline  over  them,  to  maintain 
that  kind  of  religious  influence,  which,  humanly  speaking,  is 
necessary  to  their  conversion.  It  is  not  impossible,  as  might  be 
shown  by  a  reference  to  many  examples,  especially  at  that  day, 
of  whom  Dr.  Caldwell  must  be  regarded  as  one,  notwithstand- 
ing the  common  remark  above  mentioned ;  nor  did  those  Avho 
Icnew  thom  both  understand  it  as  literally  true,  but  made  it  or 


LIFK  OF  DAVID  C ALDWKLJ,,  D.J).  Hi) 

used  it  to  express  their  high  opinion  of  her  piety  and  zeal ; — 
yet  it  was  to  Iiim,  and  to  the  whole  church,  so  far  as  known,  a 
cause  of  gratitude  which  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  in  silence, 
that  he  had  an  assistant  in  this  work  who  was  so  competent  and 
so  faithful.  Without  dwelling  on  this,  however,  at  present,  or 
undertaking  to  eulogize  one  whose  record  is  on  high,  it  is  certain 
that  many  young  men  who  went  there  with  no  other  wish  or 
thought  than  that  of  being  prepared  to  reap  tlie  rewards  or  wear 
the  honors  of  this  world,  were  converted  to  the  Lord  before 
they  left,  and  became  in  due  time  devoted  and  useful  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  several  of  whom  ascribed  their  awakening  and 
conversion  to  her  instrumentality.  Whenever  any  of  them  be- 
came concerned  about  their  salvation,  whether  impressed  by 
some  dispensation  of  Providence,  or  awakened  under  the  ordi- , 
nary  means  of  grace,  the  resort  was  to  Mrs.  Caldwell  in  prefer- 
ence to  any  body  else ;  and  those  who  were  truly  pious  and 
had  their  attention  turned  to  the  gospel  ministry,  found  that  they 
were  increased  in  faith,  advanced  in  christian  knowledge,  and 
encouraged  to  persevere  in  their  toilsome  course  of  preparation 
for  usefulness,  by  her  conversation  and  her  e^xample  as  a  chris- 
tian. The  aged  minister  whose  name  has  been  already  men- 
tioned, observed  to  the  writer  not  long  since,  that  although  he 
believes  he  was  a  christian  before  he  went  there,  and  was  aim- 
ing at  the  ministry,  yet  in  his  circumstances  his  trials  and  dis- 
couragements were  so  great  that  he  was  sometimes  on  the  point 
of  giving  up  all  hope  of  ever  attaining  the  object  of  his  wishes, 
but  by  her  advice  and  encouragement,  he  was  kept  along,  and 
that  she  was  of  more  service  to  him  than  all  the  ministers  in  the 
Orange  Presbytery.  All  who  were  pious  when  they  went,  or 
who  became  so  while  there,  have  always  spoken  of  her  with 
the  highest  veneration,  and  have  borne  a  uniform  testimony  to 
her  uncommon  intelligence  on  the  subject  of  religion,  including 
doctrines,  precepts,  experience,  &c. ;  her  devotional  spirit,  her 
cheerful  piety,  her  humble  zeal,  her  confidence  in  God ;  and 
since  she  has  gone  to  reap  the  rewards  of  piety  in  another  world, 
she  will  be  had  in  long  remembrance  here  on  earth. 
^  Thus  in  every  way  his  school  was  a  nursery  for  the  church, 
or  foT  the  gospel  ministry ;  and  while  the  whole  country  is  deep- 


JO  MFK  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

ly  indebted  to  it  for  the  advancement  of  literature  and  science,  and 
for  the  general  difTusioa  of  useful  knowledge,  the  church,  and 
the  Presbyterian  church  especially,  has  cause  to  rejoice  that,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  his  lot  was  cast  in  this  country  just  at  the 
time  when  such  services  as  he  could  render,  and  such  influence 
as  he  was  prepared  to  exert,  were  highly  important,  if  not  abso- 
lutely necessary,  to  its  welfare ;  and  that  he  was  prepared  to 
labor  so  long  and  so  successfully  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  What- 
ever may  have  been  his  success  in  the  ministry,  or  in  the  work 
of  converting  men  by  his  personal  labors,  as  a  minister,  or  what 
that  success  might  have  been  had  he  given  himself  wholly  to 
the  ministry,  as  Paul  directed  Timothy  to  do,  we  need  not  now 
enquire  ;  for  the  influence  which  a  man  exerts  on  the  youth  of 
the  country  who  are  to  fiU  the  places  of  public  trust  and  respon- 
■  sibility,  in  church  and  state,  if  it  is  of  the  right  kind,  is  the  most 
extensive,  salutary,  and  permanent ;  and  it  surely  cannot  afl^ect 
tiie  question  of  a  man's  usefulness,  in  the  character  of  an  ambas- 

♦  sador  for  Christ,  or  in  the  great  work  of  reconciling  men  to  God, 
in  what  particular  way,  or  on  what  class  of  men,  his  agency 
waseniploj'ed. 

From  the  condition  of  the  country  at  the  time  of  his   settle- 

,.^^  ment,  he  soon  found  it  necessary,  or  considered  it  his  duty,  to 

^urn  his  attention  to  another  subject.     There  was  no  physician 

^  within  any  reasonable  distance,  or  none  in  whose  skill  any  con- 

*  fidence  could  be  placed  ;  nor  was  there  any  known  probability 
of  obtaining  one;  and  the  people  amongst  whom  he  lived  and 

!  to  whose  welfare  he  was  devoted,  like  all  first  settlers  in  a  new 
^,or  wilderness  country,  being  not  well  provided  with  the  conve- 
niences and  comforts  necessary  to  health,  were  in  great  want  of 
medical  assistance,  but  he  being  a  man  of  liberal  education,  and 
their  pastor,  it  was  natural  that  they  should  look  to  him,  as  they 
did,  for  every  thing  that  was  beyond  their  own  knowledge  or 
ability,  so  far  at  least  as  they  depended  on  the  agency  of  man. 
•  Whatever  might  be  said,  in  ordinary  cases,  against  a  minister's 
engaging  in  pursuits  or  avocations,  not  inunediately  connected 
with  the  duties  of  the  ministry,  surely  no  one  of  liberal  vicv.-'s 
and  humane  feelings  will  say  that,  situated  as  lie  was,  he  could 
bo  fairly  c'iarg;^d  wiili  delinquency  in  relation  to  his  ordination 


LIFK  OF  PAVI]-)   fAI.DWKM..  I). I).  I  I 

VOWS  and  his  responsibilities  as  a  gospel  minister,  in  tlms  attend- 
ing to  the  calls  of  humanity.  At  all  events  he  felt  it  his  duty, 
under  the  existing  circumstances,  to  acquire  such  a  knowledge 
of  medicine,  if  possible,  as  would  enable  him  to  be  of  service  in 
this  way  to  the  people  of  his  own  charge,  if  no  more ;  and  for 
this  purpose  he  procured  a  few  medical  works  from  Philadelphia, 
with  the  intention  of  making  the  best  use  of  them  he  could. — 
Vrhile  thus  engaged  in  this  study,  alone  and  unaided,  devoting 
to  it  every  leisure  moment,  and  even  curtailing  the  hours  of 
sleep,  that  he  miglit  make  the  greater  proficiency,  a  regular  phy- 
sician, by  the  name  of  Woodsides,  from  Pennsylvania,  who  was 
a  distant  relation  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  and  a  young  man  of  piety, 
came  along  unexpectedly,  and  was  prevailed  on  by  Mr.  Cald- 
well to  remain  with  him  for  some  time,  board  in  his  faniily,  and 
practice  in  his  congregations.  Vv'ho  t  were  his  particular  reasons 
for  coming  south,  and  how  long  he  might  have  remained  in 
Guilford,  had  he  lived,  we  have  no  knowledge  ;  but  he  had  not 
been  here  over  a  year  when  he  was  removed  by  death,  and  just 
in  the  beginning  of  his  usefulness.  His  coming,  however,  at  tliat 
time  seemed  to  be  providential ;  for  Mr.  Caldwell  not  only  got 
all  the  instruction  and  assistance  he  could  give  him,  at  the  very 
time  too  when  it  was  most  needed,  as  well  as  the  privilege  of 
attending  with  him  on  his  practice,  whenever  he  chose  ;  but  ob- 
tained, partly  by  gift  and  partly  by  purchase,  a  number  of  val- 
uable works  "in  the  profession.  The  books  of  this  young  and 
promising  physician,  whose  death  was  so  premature  and  so 
much  regretted,  which  he  had  not  given  to  his  reverend  friend 
and  pupil,  were  sold  after  his  death  at  public  sale.  Mr.  Caldwell 
bought  them,  and  got  them  low  ;  for  no  one  else  had  any  use 
for  them,  or  knew  their  value.  With  the  assistance  he  had  thus 
received,  and  by  his  own  assiduous  application,  he  soon  became 
respectable  for  his  knowledge  and  skill  in  the  medical  profession; 
and  was  for  many  years  the  only  practising  physician,  of  any 
note,  over  a  space  of  country  twenty  miles  or  more  in  diameter. 
It  is  probable  too,  that  he  obtained  some  assistance  in  acquir- 
ing a  knoAvIcdge  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine  from  his 
intimate  friendship  and  intercourse  with  Doct.  Rush,  which  com- 
menced while  they  were  students  together  in  college,  and  seems 


^ 


42  LIFE  OP  BAVIU  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

to  have  been  continued  through  hfe.  They  were  not  class 
mates ;  for  Doct.  Rush  was  graduated  a  year  before  him  ;  but 
their  friendsliip  commenced  then  and  continued  until  it  was  in- 
terrupted by  death.  Doct.- Caldwell,  as  he  began  now  to  be 
generally  called,  though  he  did  not  receive  the  title  of  D.D.  for 
many  years  afterwards,  procured  the  writings  of  Doct.  Rush,  as 
they  were  published ;  and  maintained  a  regular,  or  at  least  a 
frequent  correspondence  with  him.  He  went  twice  all  the  way 
to  Philadelphia  to  consult  him,  or  get  his  assistance,  in  a  case  of 
affliction  in  his  family,  taking  the  patient  with  him  ;  and  on  one 
of  these  occasions  obtained  his  co-operation  in  another  matter  of 
some  interest  which  will  come  into  notice  again. 

His  practice  of  medicine  was  therefore  not  quackery  :  He  was 
not  a  mere  sciolist  in  any  thing  that  he  undertook  to  teach  or 
professed  to  understand ;  and  although  he  may  not  have  been 
what  would  be  considered  a  weU  read  physician  at  the  present 
day,  he  was  behind  few,  if  any,  at  that  time,  in  all  the  ordinary 
diseases  of  the  comitry,  while  in  some  that  have  usually  been 
very  dilllcult  to  manage  he  was  much  celebrated.  He  continu- 
ed the  practice  of  medicine,  in  connexion  with  the  duties  of  his 
.school  and  of  his  pastoral  office  until  his  fourth  son  was  prepar- 
ed to  take  his  place,  and  then  he  declined  it,  except  in  some  spe- 
cial cases,  or  among  his  particular  friends.  His  constitution 
was  uncommonly  vigorous  and  his  health  uninterrupted,  or  lie 
could  not  have  discharged  the  duties  belonging  to  all  these  dif- 
ferent professions.  During  the  whole  of  his  public  life  he  hard- 
ly ever  knew  what  it  Avas  to  be  sick,  except  by  one  attack  of 
fever  some  time  after  the  Revolutionary  War  ;  and  his  life  was 
at  last  terminated,  not  by  disease  or  violence,  but  by  the  gradual 
and  easy  decay  of  nature.  As  might  be  expected,  his  active 
habits  and  his  uniform  temperance  in  every  respect,  were  the 
means  of  preserving  his  health  and  vigor ;  for  while  he  took  no 
more  time  for  recreation  and  exercise  than  was  really  necessa- 
ry, he  was  as  regular  in  that  as  in  the  duties  of  his  school  room 
or  any  thing  else  ;  and  even  his  recreation  consisted  not  so  much 
in  relaxation,  or  in  idle  hours,  as  in  a  change  of  employment. 
The  Rev.  E.  B,  Currie,  in  the  connnunication  already  referred 
to,  soys,  "  Dr.  Caldwell's  life  was  rather  a  life  of  labor  than  of 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  4;> 

Study ;  and  when  we  consider  that  he  had  a  large  school  which 
he  attended  generally  five  days  in  the  week,  two  large  congre- 
gations which  he  catechised  at  least  twice  a  year,  four  commu- 
nions which  always  lasted  four  days  each,  besides  his  visiting 
the  sick,  frequently  preaching  in  vacant  congregations,  &c.,  &c., 
we  can  see  that  there  was  not  much  time  left  for  study  ;  but  he 
was  a  close  student  when  opportunity  offered."  This  referred, 
however,  to  the  period  when  Mr.  Currie  was  acquainted  with 
him,  which  was  some  years  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
when  Dr.  Caldwell  had  arrived  to  that  stage  of  life  in  which  his 
energies  were  somewhat  abated.  Besides,  he  had  lost  his  libra- 
ry, which  he  was  able  to  replace  only  by  very  slow  degrees  ; 
and  he  was  also  more  occupied  than  formerly  with  public  af- 
fairs. During  the  first  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  of  his  ministry 
he  studied  very  closely  ;  but  his  principal  time  for  study  was  at 
night.  He  was  in  the  regular  habit,  during  this  period,  of  go- 
ing to  bed  at  ten  and  rising  at  four  ;  and  this  would  allow  him 
as  many  hours  to  spend  in  the  study  room  as  are  usually  spent 
there  by  ministers  of  the  present  day,  who  have  nothing  on 
hand  but  their  ministerial  and  pastoral  duties,  or  no  others  of 
a  professional  kind. 

As  a  proof  of  his  industrious  habits,  and  of  a  strict  regard  to 
the  preservation  of  his  health,  he  ditched  and  irrigated  his  mead- 
ows with  his  own  hands ;  and  he  did  it  by  working  with  his 
spade  something  like  an  hour  at  a  time,  morning  and  evening, 
until  it  was  accomplished,  unless  called  away  to  visit  the  sick, 
or  to  discharge  some  other  pastoral  duty  of  incidental  or  casual 
occurrence.  When  not  thus  called  away,  however,  it  was  his 
recreation  for  the  time  being ;  and  the  consequence  was,  not  only 
that  his  health  and  vigor  were  preserved,  but  that  he  had  the 
best  meadows  in  the  country.  If  the  meadow  did  not  require 
his  attention,  he  found  something  else  of  a  profitable  kind  to  af- 
ford employment  for  those  hours  which  most  others  devote  ex- 
clusively to  relaxation ;  but  every  hour,  and  almost  every  min- 
ute that  could  be  so  employed  was  sedulously  devoted  to  study; 
.-iiid  thus  he  was  able  to  accomplish  what  would  appear  to  many 
impossible. 

The  remark  has  been  made  and  repeated  until  it  seems  to  b^ 


44  LtFK    OF  DAVID  CAldWELL,  D,D. 

regarded  as  a  truism,  that  men  should  be  employed  to  the  full 
extent  of  all  their  powers,  mental  and  physical;  and  that  when 
thus  employed  they  are  heaUhier  and  happier,  as  well  as  more 
useful,  than  when  any  of  their  powers  are  suifered  to  lie  dor- 
mant ;  but  after  long  experience,  and  much  discussion,  it  is  yet 
undecided  v/hether  the  extreme  division  of  labor  which  has  so 
much  prevailed  in  Europe,  and  which  has  many  advocates  in 
this  country,  is  favorable  either  to  the  highest  degree  of  intellec- 
tual improvement,  or  to  the  greatest  amount  of  usefulness.  Can 
t!ie  intellectual  powers  be  more  fully  developed,  and  be  made  to 
accomplish  a  greater  amount  of  good,  by  having  them  always 
employed  on  pnc  subject,  if  employed  at  all?  or,  if  "much 
study  is  a  weariness  to  the  iiesh,"  can  that  weariness  be  relieved 
by  engaging  in  something  that  will  bring  all  the  physical  ener- 
gies into  exercise,  and  in  a  v/ay  that  v/ill  contribute  to  the  stock 
of  materials  required  for  our  support  and  comfort,  as  well  as  by 
a  process  of  invigoration,  essentially  the  same  in  its  nature,  but 
liaving  no  such  design,  and  no  tendency  to  produce  such  a  re- 
sult ?  The  discussion  of  this  matter,  whether  it  belongs  to  the 
department  of  philosophy,  physiology,  metaphysics,  or  all  to- 
gether, would  be  out  of  place  here  ;  and  must  bo  decided  by  an 
appeal  to  facts,  or  be  left  to  the  silent  testimony  of  experience. 
But  it  is  believed  that  the  early  settled  ministers  of  our  clnu'ch 
in  this  State  who  were  engaged  hi  teaching,  farming,  &.c.,  as 
well  as  preaching,  will  compare  very  favorably,  for  talents,  learn- 
ing, and  efficiency  as  preachers,  with  those  of  the  present  day, 
though  enjoying  advantages  which  arc  supposed  to  bo  greatly 
superior,  and  devoted  for  the  most  part  to  the  exclusive  business 
of  preaching  the  gospel ;  and  for  proof  of  this  we  might  refer  to 
the  state  in  which  they  left  their  congregations,  as  to  intelligence 
and  piety,  and  produce  the  sermons  which  they  published  while 
living,  or  which  they  left  in  manuscript,  and  which  yet  remain 
perliEips  as  an  undervalued  treasure  in  the  hands  of  a  generation 
too  careless  or  too  much  occupied  in  other  ways  to  make  them 
available  for  the  conmion  benclit.  Our  country  during  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  eighteenth  century  abounded  in  men  of  ability  and 
moral  worth,  in  all  the  dcpal'tmcnts  of  public  life  ;  and  the  times 
rtMjuircd  such.     North  Carolina  during  that  period  appears  to 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  B.U.  45 

have  had  a  ministry  that  was  as  able,  zealous,  and  useful,  as  any- 
State  south  of  the  Potomac ;  and  of  this  fact  we  may  be  satisfied 
by  obtaining  a  proper  knowledge  of  their  character. 

But  that  we  may  be  able  to  judge  of  a  man's  cliaracter  and 
to  from  a'cdrrect  estimate  of  the  services  he  has  rendered,  or 
of  the  injury  he  has  done,  it  is  necessary  to  be  acquainted  with 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed.  The  history  of  a 
man  who  was  prominent  or  influential  cannot  be  written  with- 
out describing  all  the  transactions  and  events  in  which  he  had 
any  agency ;  and  as  these  transactions  and  events  go  to  make 
up  tlie  history  of  the  country,  that  history  cannot  be  written  cor- 
rectly, or  so  as  to  be  satisfactory,  without  giving  him  the  same 
prominence  in  it  that  he  had  in  the  scenes  and  events  there  des- 
cribed. Again.  In  all  countries  and  in  all  ages,  religion,  whether 
true  or  false,  has  had  such  an  influence,  directly  or  indirectly,  on 
the  government,  that,  without  keeping  that  influence  fully  and 
distinctly  in  view,  justice  cannot  be  done  to  the  government,  nor 
can  its  measures  be  fairly  accounted  for  or  explained.  This  is 
one  reason  why  many  of  the  principal  histories  we  have  are  so 
nnsatisfactory :  They  were  written  by  men  who  were  either 
hostile  to  religion  in  their  feelings,  and  wished  to  say  as  little 
about  it  as  possible,  or  were  incapable  of  estimating  its  influence. 

It  has  been  said  by  a  late  writer  of  some  celebrity  that  the 
people  of  every  country  are  just  what  the  government  makes 
them  ;  but  whether  this  be  true  or  not  in  relation  to  other  coun- 
tries, it  is  not  true  of  the  people  in  the  United  States.  Perhaps, 
however,  it  would  be  m.ore  correct  to  say  that  the  government 
of  every  country  is  just  what  the  people  of  that  country  make 
it  •  or  at  least  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  index  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  at  the  time  it  went  into  operation.  For  ex- 
ample, a  despotism  could  never  be  established,  if  tlje  people,  or 
a  large  proportion  of  them,  were  not  so  ignorant  or  so  debased 
in  some  v/ay,  as  to  be  fit  for  bondage  ;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
a  republican  government  can  never  be  established  unless  tlic 
people  understand  their  rights,  and  have  intelligence  and  moral 
principle  sufficient  to  govern  themselves.  In  the  former  case, 
false  religion,  or  superstition,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  may 
have  contributed  greatly  to  the   establishment  and  subsequent 


46  I^IFK  or  1>AV1U  CAX.J)\\'ELL,  D.D. 

support  of  the  very  power  by  which  they  were  oppressed  ;  but 
tlieii  the  government  did  not  make  them  superstitious  -^  for  it 
was  the  result  of  their  intellectual  and  moral  condition  which 
made  them  fit  subjects  to  be  thus  acted  upon,  and  to  obey  the 
dictates  of  arbitrary  power.  In  the  latter  case  true  religion  may 
contribute,  and  must  contribute,  to  the  formation  and  support  of 
a  free  government ;  and  wliencver  the  doctrmes  of  the  gospel 
are  properly  understood  and  generally  received,  they  will  make 
the  people  free.  Their  responsibility  to  God,  their  individual 
importance  as  subjects  of  his  universal  dominion,  the  participa- 
tion which  they  have  now  in  his  merciful  regards,  and  the  infi- 
nite importance  of  securing  an  everlasting  interest  in  his  favor 
by  conforming  to  the  dictates  of  his  will,  are  so  clearly  presen- 
ted that  those  who  believe  these  truths  will  bid  defiance  to  any 
authority  whose  claims  are  incompatible  with  the  obedience 
liere  required  ;  and  therefore  mankind  are  indebted  to  the  Bible 
for  whatever  rational  and  permanent  freedom  they  have  at  any 
time  enjoyed.  These  doctrines  have,  in  this  respect,  or  so  far 
as  the  present  interest  of  mankind  is  concerned,  an  indirect  in- 
fluence upon  multitudes  who  do  not  believe  with  the  heart  unto 
righteousness  ;  and  whenever  any  portion  of  the  church  unites 
s'o  far  with  tlie  civil  government  as  to  become  accessory  to  its 
oppressive  or  unrighteous  measures,  or  to  employ  the  power  of 
tliat  government  to  enforce  its  own  peculiar  views  of  doctrine, 
or  modes  of  worship,  it  has  so  far  departed  from  the  spirit  of 
the  gospel ;  and  has  not  only  relinquished,  in  the  same  degree, 
its  own  liberty,  as  a  part  of  that  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this 
world,  if  belonging  to  it  at  all,  is  but  unjustifiably  interfering 
with  the  rights  of  conscience  in  others. 

The  revohition  which  made  the  American  Colonies  an  inde- 
pendent nation  must  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  christian 
principle  ;  and  it  was  an  act  in  the  great  drama  of  the  world  of 
such  magnitude,  and  was  productive  of  such  joyous  results,  that 
wc  can  hardly  ever  become  weary  in  contemplating  it,  nor  can 
any  thing  that  may  serve  to  make  us  better  acquainted  with  its 
origin  or  progress  be  destitute  of  interest.  Society  was  resolved 
into  its  origuial  elements ;  and  those  elements  had  to  be  combined 
and  ro-orgnnizcd  by  tlie  master  s})irits  of  the  day.     Such  men 


I.II.M:  of  DAVID  CALinVELL.  D.U.  47 

were  Ibund  in  every  department ;  and  ministers  of"  the  gospel, 
of  diflerent  denominations,  were  called  upon  by  the  voice  of 
their  comitry,  and  by  strong  convictions  of  duty,  to  encourage 
resistance  to  "the  powers  that  were  ;"  and  to  aid  in  a  course  of 
measures  that  would  necessarily  involve  much  calamity  and 
suffering.  But  the  motives  of  the  men  who  were  at  that  time 
prominent  actors  on  the  great  tlieatre  of  conflict  between  truth 
and  error,  liberty  and  oppression,  cannot  be  understood,  nor  can 
their  worth  be  appreciated,  without  bringing  into  view  the  con- 
dition of  the  country  up  to  the  time  when  this  conflict  commen- 
ced ;  the  character  of  the  people  whose  destiny,  with  that  of 
unborn  millions,  was  at  stake  ;  and  the  tyrannical  measures 
and  spirit  of  the  government  to  which  they  were  subject. 

The  people  who,  under  the  British  government,  settled  the 
country  now  covered  by  the  United  States,  or  by  the  old  thirteen 
States,  were  very  different  in  their  political  and  religious  senti- 
ments; in  their  pecuniary  circumstances  and  habits  of  living;  and 
were  influenced  by  diflerent  motives  in  exchanging  a  civilized 
for  a  savage  country.  Those  who  settled  New  England  and 
most  of  the  country  north  of  the  Potomac,  were  actuated  by  re- 
ligious motives ;  and  sought  the  wilds  of  America  as  an  asylum 
from  religious  intolerance  and  persecution  in  the  old  world.  Of 
course  not  many  of  them  were  people  of  rank  or  fortune — hav- 
ing no  other  nobility  than  intelligence  and  moral  worth  ;  and  no 
wealth  but  a  good  conscience  and  industrious  habits.  The  pos- 
session of  the  soil  and  the  liberty  of  worshipping  God  as  they 
thought  right,  with  the  privilege  of  governing  themselves  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  laws  of  England,  wore  secured  to  them  by 
charter;  and  for  the  sake  of  these  they  left  the  endearments  of 
home  and  the  advantages  of  civilized  society.  The  proprietors, 
or  those  who  obtained  the  charters,  were  themselves  emigrants;* 
and  shared  in  the  privations,  toils,  and  perils  of  colonizing  a 
savage  country.  Their  government,  therefore,  so  far  as  they 
W' ere  permitted  to  form  one,  was  emphatically  the  child  of  nature 
— a  government  of  the  people,  free  and  independent;  and  such 
a  government  as  this,  any  people  will  form,  if  left  to  the  dictates 
of  nature  and  an  enlightened  conscience.     The  country  to  the 

^Bancroft,  rol,  %  p.  1^. 


4^  LIKE   OF   DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

soutinvard  was  settled  under  the  auspices  of  men  who  belonged 
to  the  ranks  of  the  nobility,  the  wealthy  and  influential,  whose 
object  was  an  increase  of  wealth  or  fame  ;  and  hence  their  ef- 
forts from  tiie  first  to  introduce  into  their  colonies  orders  of  no- 
bility and  an  established  church.  If  at  any  time  they  granted 
free  toleration  and  promised  great  immunities,  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  emigants,  it  was  only  for  selfish  purposes  ;  and  was  not 
of  long  conthiuance. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  English  to  form  a  permanent  settle- 
ment on  the  territory  now  belonging  to  the  United  States,  with 
any  thing  like  intelligent  and  sober  views  of  the  subject,  was 
made  by  the  talented,  heroic,  and  enterprising  Sir  Waiter  Ra- 
leigh. Having  obtained  a  patent  from  Elizabeth  for  the  pur- 
pose, he  sent  out  two  ships  laden  with  men  and  provisions,  un- 
der the  command  of  Philip  Amidasand  Arthur  Barlow  in  1584, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  discoveries  and  exploring  the  country 
with  a  view  to  a  settlement.  They  landed  on  the  shores  of 
what  is  now  North  Carolina,  on  one  of  the  islands  forming  Ocra- 
cock  Inlet ;  and  after  trafficking  with  the  natives  and  ranging 
the  coast  for  a  few  weeks  they  returned  to  England.  His  patent 
"  was  drawn  on  the  principles  of  feudal  law,  and  with  strict  re- 
gard to  the  christian  faith,  as  professed  in  the  church  of  Eng- 
land.^'''^  It  is  supposed  that  he  was  stimulated  to  this  enter- 
prise, in  part,  by  an  attempt  made  about  twenty  years  before 
to  find  an  asylum  in  the  new  world  for  the  persecuted  i^rotest- 
ants  of  Europe.  The  celebrated  Jasper  de  Coiigny,  Admiral  of 
France,  the  leader  of  the  Hnguenots  during  the  period,  or  a  part 
of  the  period,  m  whicli  they  were  so  cruelly  persecuted,  had 
long  cherished  the  project  of  finding  a  place  of  safety  for  his 
pei'secuted  brethren  in  America  ;  and  two  attempts  were  made 
under  his  auspices  to  form  settlements  on  the  southern  coast — 
the  first  at  Port  Royal,  near  the  south  west  corner  of  South  Car- 
olina, in  1562  ;  and  the  other  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  May, 
the  San  Mattheo  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  St.  John's  of  the 
English,  in  Florida,  which  was  in  15G4.t  These  were  both  un- 
successful;  and  the  project  was,  from  necessity,  abandoned. — ■ 

*  BancroO,  vol.  1,  p.  92.  j  nincroU,  vol.  2,  p.  62-64 ;  Johnson's  life  of 
Cjrcoii,  vol.  1,  p.  47ii,  .\j)i)Oiiilix. 


LU'K  OF  T)\VW  CWMWKhh,  I.).I>.  ifi 

Raleigh  had  learned  the  art  of  war  under  Cohgny  ;  and  being 
an  admirer  of  his  character,  hoped  to  accomplish  what  liis  mas- 
ter liad  failed  to  do,  and  to  found  a  protestant  nation  in  the  new 
world,  but  with  a  government  conformed  to  that  of  England. — 
When  the  ship  which  he  had  sent  out  returned,  the  men,  being 
delighted  thcnjsclves,  gave  such  a  glowing  description  of  the 
country  to  Elizabeth  and  her  court,  that  they  gave  it  the  name  of 
Virginia,  because  it  had  been  discovered  under  the  reign,  and 
by  the  encouragement  of  a  virgin  Queen.  The  name  which 
was  thus  given  in  the  first  instance,  to  what  is  now  North  Car- 
olina, came  to-  be  applied  almost  uideiinitely  to  the  continent;  and 
the  country  from  Florida  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  was  cal- 
led by  the  Spaniards  Florida,  and  by  the  French  Carolina,  was 
by  the  English  called  Virginia.  In  the  early  part  of  the  next 
year,  Raleigh  fitted  out  a  new  expedition,  consisting  of  seven 
vessels,  and  carrying  one  hundred  and  eight  men,  who  were  to 
form  a  colony  in  Virginia,  now  North  Carolina  ;  but  having  fail- 
ed in  this  and  several  other  attempts  of  a  similar  kind,  he  resign- 
ed his  patent ;  and  nothing  more  was  done  towards  colonizing 
Virginia,  or  America,  during  the  remainder  of  that  century. 

In  1606,  charters  were  granted  by  James  I.  to  two  distinct 
and  rival  companies  :  The  first  was  composed  of  noblemen,  gen- 
tlemen, and  merchants,  in  and  about  London  ;  and  the  second, 
of  kniglits,  gentlemen,  and  merchants,  in  the  west.  The  former 
alone  appear  to  have  acted  efficiently  under  their  charter,  which 
extended  from  34°  to  S8°  N.  lat.*  The  charter  contained  none 
of  the  elements  of  popular  liberty — not  one  elective  franchise ; 
and  not  one  of  the  rights  of  self-government ;  but  religion  was 
especially  enjoined  to  be  estabhshed  according  to  the  doctrine 
and  rites  of  the  church  of  England.  Near  the  end  of  the  year, 
three  vessels,  with  105  men,  destined  to  remain  as  colonists, 
sailed  under  the  command  of  Newport,  for  some  harbor  in  Vir- 
giiiia.  After  encountcriiig  many  hardships  and  perils,  they  ar- 
rived on  the  coast  in  April  of  the  next  year;  but  without  any 
design  or  knowledge  on  their  part,  tliey  were  carried  by  a  severe 
storm  past  the  settlements  of  Raleigh,  into  the  Chesapeak  Bay. 
Finding  on  a  river,  which,  after  their  monarch,  they  called  Jamc^' 

^'Eancvoft,  vol.  1,  p.  1-20. 
7 


■jO  LlFi;    Oi'  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

river,  a  more  favorable  location  than  Raleigh's  men  had  found, 
they  formed  a  permanent  settlement.  They  suffered  greatly 
from  famine  and  from  the  savages ;  but  by  a  variety  of  fortu- 
nate occurrences,  and  especielly  by  the  talents,  energy,  and  firm- 
ness of  the  celebrated  John  Smith,  the  little  colony  Avas  enabled 
to  maintam  its  ground ;  and  in  time  became  prosperous.  By 
charters  granted,  and  settlements  formed  afterwards,  on  one  side 
and  the  other,  it  was  reduced  to  its  present  Umits,  as  to  latitude  ; 
but  being  the  oldest  colony,  it  retained  the  name  of  Virginia  ; 
and  for  the  same  reason  it  is  often  called  the  Old  Dominion. 

By  various  modifications  of  their  charter,  and  in  other  ways, 
they  obtained  in  a  few  years  nearly  all  the  civil  rights  and  priv- 
ileges which  they  could  claim  or  expect  as  British  subjects ;  but 
the  church  of  England  was  "  co-eval  with  the  settlement  at 
Jamestown,  and  seems  to  have  been  considered  from  the  begin- 
ing  as  the  established  religion."  When  the  government  was  ad- 
ministered by  martial  law  under  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  though  "con- 
formity was  not  strictly  enforced,  courts-martial  had  authority 
to  punish  indifference  with  stripes,  and  infidelity  with  death."* 
While  tlie  colony  was  feeble,  and  it  was  the  interest  of  all  con- 
cerned to  have  it  increased  by  accessions  from  abroad,  dissenters 
were  encouraged  to  come,  and  were  suffered  to  retain  in  peace 
their  own  forms  of  worship  ;  but  this  was  not  of  long  continu- 
ance. Sir  William  Berkley,  who  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office  in  1642,  was  popular  as  a  governor  and  as  a  man  ;  but  he 
was  a  zealous  high  church  man,  and  exerted  himself  to  have 
that  church  fully  established.  In  1643  "  it  was  specially  ordered 
that  no  minister  should  preach  or  teach,  publicly  or  privately, 
except  in  conformity  to  the  constitutions  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  non-conformists  were  banished  from  the  colony."! — 
Some  who  were  thus  banished  j'jrohably  came  over  to  CaroUna 
in  which  no  regular  settlement  had  hitherto  been  established ; 
tor  in'  this  year  a  company  having  heard  of  a  river  that  lay  south- 
west of  the  Appomatox,  obtained  leave  of  the  Virginia  legisla- 
ture to  prosecute  discoveries  in  that  direction.!  Even  in  tlie 
time  of  Cromwell,  though  the  laws  of  confornnty  were  not  cn- 
jbrccd  against  other  dissenters,  "  an  act  was  passed  by  which 
^f^BaiidroR,  vol.  1,  p.  H3.     tBanciof>,  \-ol.  1,  p.  207.     tCancroft ,  vol.  2,  p.  i:«. 


LIFE  OF  PAVID  C'ALDWKLL;  D.D.  5l 

Quakers  were  banished,  and  their  return  regarded  as  felou}'.'' '■ 
After  the  Restoration,  in  16G0,  tlie  Enghsh  church  became  again 
the  reUgion  of  tlie  state  ;  or  rather  the  intolerant  spirit  of  former 
years  revived,  for  the  laws  on  this  subject  had  not  been  changed; 
and  conformity  appears  to  have  been  enforced  with  as  much 
rigor  as  in  England.t  The  church  of  England,  with  very  httle 
more  toleration,  continued  to  be  the  established  church  of  Vir- 
ginia until  the  Revolution  of  1776  ;  and  even  after  independence 
was  gained,  eftbrts  were  made  to  have  it  re-established. 

When  people  first  began  to  settle  permanently  within  the  pre- 
sent limits  of  North  Carolina  has  not  been  ascertained.  In  1622 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Porey,  Secretary  of  the  Old  Dominion, 
travelled  over  land  to  the  Chowan  river;  and  on  his  return  made 
a  very  favorable  report.  J  In  1630  a  patent  was  granted  to  Sir 
Robert  Heath  for  the  whole  of  Carolina ;  and  some  efforts  were 
made  to  form  a  colony  ;  for  William  Hawley  appeared  in  Vir- 
ginia as  Governor  of  Carolina ;  and  leave  was  granted  by  the 
Virginia  legislature  that  it  might  be  colonized  by  one  hundred 
persons  from  Virginia.  The  attempts  were  unsuccessful ;  for 
the  patent  was  declared  void  some  time  after,  because  the  pur- 
poses for  which  it  was  granted  had  not  been  fulfilled,§  though 
some  straggling  individuals  or  families  may  have  remained. 
Whether  the  company  which  obtained  leave  of  the  Virginia  le- 
gislature in  1643  to  prosecute  discoveries  on  the  great  river  of 
which  they  had  heard  south  of  the  Appomatox,  under  a  promise 
of  a  fourteen  years  monopoly  of  the  profits,  were  seeking  a  place 
of  safety  from  religious  intolerance,  and  whether  they  prosecuted 
those  discoveries  and  made  any  settlements,  I  have  not  seen  sta- 
ted; but  in  1652  the  sons  of  Governor  Yeardly  wrote  to  Eng- 
land that  the  northern  country  of  Carolina  had  been  explored  by 
"Virginians  born."||  Exploring  parties  to  the  south  as  well  as 
to  the  west  continuing  to  be  encouraged,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  some  of  these  would  settle  on  the  fertile  lands  of  the  Chow- 
an or  Roanoke.  As  the  waters  of  the  Chowan  rise  not  far  from 
the  principal  settlements  then  in  Virginia,  it  would  be  in  accord- 
ance with  the  known  principles  of  human  nature  to  suppose  that 

^Bancroft,  vol.  1,  p.  231 ;  Jefferson's  Notes,  p.  228. 

fBancroft,  vol.  2,  p.  200;  Jefferson's  Notes,  p.  228. 

tBuucroft,  vo).  2,  p.  133.     ^  Bancroft,  vol.  2. 131.     P  Bancroft,  vol.  2,  p.  i:.VJ, 


O-i  LIFE  OK   DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

individuals  and  families,  who  were  eitlier  fond  of  a  roving  life, 
or  disliked  the  intolerant  laws  enacted  under  the  influence  of 
Governor  Berkley,  would  descend  these  streams  until  they  cou^d 
follow  them  no  farther,  or  until  they  were  beyoLid  the  roach  of 
a  power  which  they  disliked;  and  as  the  country  on  Nanse- 
mond  river  was  settled  chiefly  by  dissenters  of  dhferent  names, 
it  is  probable  that,  for  the  rights  of  conscience,  some  of  these 
would  risk  the  hardslnps  and  perils  of  iJie  wilderness,  and  trust 
to  the  guidance  and  protection  of  Providence. 

In  1653,  Roger  Green  led  a  comp:iny  across  the  wilderness 
from  Nansemond  to  the  Chowan  ;  and  others  probably,  encour- 
aged by  their  example,  or  influenced  by  similar  motives,  soon 
followed.  It  is  certain  that  the  corner  of  North  Carolina,  which 
lies  north-east  of  the  Roanoke,  was  settled  chiefly  from  Virghiia; 
and  it  must  have  been  not  far  from  this  time.§  for  in  a  few  years 
after  the  above  date,  George  Cathmaid  received  a  large  grant  of 
land,  for  having  settled  sixty-seven  persons  in  Carolina  ;t  and 
volunteer  emigrants  had  preceded  them  by  several  years.J — • 
About  the  year  16G0,||  a  small  conjpany  from  JNlassachusetts 
formed  a  settlement  near  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  river ;  and 
obtained  land  from  the  Indians,  principally  for  the  purpose  of 
grazing.  In  two  or  three  years  the  settlement  was  pretty  much 
broken  up;  but  "New  England  planters,  and  New  England 
principles  of  popular  liberty,  remained  in  North  Carolina."  In 
1662,  George  Durant  obtained,  from  the  chief  of  the  Yeopim 
Indians,  the  neck  of  land  which  still  bears  his  name  ;*  and  pro- 
bably made  it  a  refuge  for  his  friends  or  acquaintances  wiio 
wished  to  get  away  from  oprcssion. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1663,  Charles  II,  being  surroun- 
ded by  a  set  of  courtiers  who  v/ere  rapacious  and  importunate, 
granted  to  eight  of  them  a  charter  to  the  whole  country  south  of 
^Bancroft,  vol.  2,  p.  104.     lB:incioIt,  vol  2,  p.  185.     IfMui-tiii,  vol.  1,  p. 
126.     l|VVill.am?on,  vol.  1,  p.  191. 

^  *Durant's  IVifck  is  still  faniosis,  not  only  for  the  trantaction  >ibovp  mon- 
itioaed,  but  tor  its  having'  fiirnif-hed  the  world  with  the  .seed  o.  tht^  T'inotfty 
{grass.  Amontr  the  fir.st  sgi tiers  there,  it  i'  said,  sva.s  a  certain  Qiiakor,  by 
/  the  name  of  Pimothy  someboby,  who  ob.>ierved  a  kind  o'  irra.<5s  ifrowinc  wild 
/  which  he  sapposed  would  be  ofood  or  cultivation.  Umler  Ihits  iuiprebsioii  he 
/  collected  some  of  the  seed  and  sent  it  to  a  friend  in  Enirland,  vvlio,  having 
I  tried  it,  and  found  it  very  valuable,  called  it  Timothy  graas,  in  honor  of  his 
I  Xricnd  in  Carolina  who  had  furnished  him  with  the  seed. 


I^li'E.  Ol-'  i>AVlU    CALDWELL,  D..V.  53 

Virgiiua ;  or  from  36°  of  N.  lat.  to  the  river  San  JMattheo  in 
P^lorida,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  tlie  Pacific  ocean.  In  addition 
to  an  absolute  right  to  the  soil,  and  tlie  power  of  making  laws, 
not  contrary  to  the  laws  of  England,  tiiey  had  the  power  of 
building  churches,  chapels,  &c.,  to  be  dedicated  and  consecrated 
according  to  the  ecclesiastical  law  of  England  ;  and  the  right  of 
adv'owson  and  patronage ;  but  the  proprietors  mig hi  grant  to 
nonconformists  such  indulgences  and  dispensations  in  that  be- 
half, for  and  during  such  time  and  times,  and  with  such  hmita- 
tions  and  restrictions,  as  they,  the  proprietoi»,sawiit  and  reason- 
able.    See  charter,  sec.  18. 

This  charter  has  been  much  praised,  as  being  liberal  towards 
dissenters  ;  and  perhaps  it  was  liberal  for  the  times  ;  but  its  lib- 
erality consisted  in  givhig  the  pvopvletors  per?nis.non  to  be  so,  if 
they  thought  proper.  It  secured  no  rights  of  conscience  to  the 
colonists.  As  the  proprietors  were  the  courtiers  of  Charles, 
they  partook  of  liis  spirit ;  and  the  same  intolerance  would  pro- 
bably have  been  exercised  here  that  was  in  England,  if  they  had 
not  known  it  would  be  fatal  to  their  interest.  In  asking  a  grant 
of  the  country,  they  professed  to  be  actuated  by  "  a  pious  zeal 
for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,"  but  their  real  object  was  their 
own  aggrandizement.  To  encourage  emigration,  they  held  out 
liberal  terms  to  emigrants;  and  promised  adventurers  gratuities 
of  land  according  to  the  number  of  their  respective  families, 
with  a  free  toleration  in  the  exercise  of  religion.  They  were 
allowed  to  form  a  representative  government,  with  certain  limi- 
tations, and  thus  a  degree  of  popular  freedom  was  conceded, 
which,  it  seems,  was  not  intended  to  be  permanent ;  but  it  could 
never  be  recalled,  and  had  an  important  influence  in  producing 
the  results  which  we  now  enjoy.  When  this  charter  was  gran- 
ted, the  settlenieiit  on  the  Albemarle  was  large  enough  to  at- 
tract attention  ;  for  "  people  had  been  moving  in  there  for  more 
than  twenty  years  at  their  own  expense  ;"*  choosing  rather  to 
run  the  risk  of  gaining  tlie  friendship  of  savages,  and  trust  to 
Providence  and  tlieir  own  eflbrts  for  subsistence,  than  bear  the 
insolence  and  cruelty  of  civilized  men  "  when  clothed  with  a 
little  brief  authority,"  and  regardless  of  every  thing  but  their 

*Williamson,  vol.  1,  p.  91, 


54  LIFE  OF  DAVID  C ALfiAViiI.<L,  l>..p. 

own  importance ;  and  when  the  proprietors  obtained  their  grant, 
they  understood  that  the  people  on  the  waters  of  the  Chowan  had 
purchased  large  tracts  of  land  from  the  Indians.*  "  As  they 
were  chiefly  refugees  from  ecclesiastical  oppression,  they  had  no 
claims  on  government ;  nor  did  they  wish  to  draw  its  attention. 
They  regarded  the  Indian  natives  as  the  true  lords  of  the  soil; 
treated  with  them  in  that  capacity  ;  purchased  their  lands ;  and 
obtained  their  grants."§ 

The  liberal  terms  oflered  by  the  proprietors  had  their  desired 
effect ;  and  considerable  accessions  were  soon  made  to  the  po- 
pulation. A  company  came  from  the  island  of  Barbadoes  and 
settled  on  the  Cape  Fear,  with  Sir  John  Yeamans  at  their  head, 
who,  after  arrangements  were  made  for  organizing  a  govern- 
ment, according  to.  the  terms  proposed  by  the  proprietors,  was 
appointed  governor,  with  a  jurisdiction  extending  from  that 
river  to  the  St.  Mattheo.  The  settlement  on  Albemarle  was 
increased  by  some  emigrants  from  Bermuda ;  and  by  a  number 
of  Quakers  and  other  dissenters  who  had  been  driven  by  intol- 
erance from  other  colonies.  Sir  William  Berkley,  one  of  the 
proprietors,  and  governor  of  Virginia,  being  then  in  his  gov- 
ernment, or  about  to  return  to  it,  was  desired  to  visit  this  settle- 
ment on  the  Albemarle,  and  establish  a  suitable  form  of  gov- 
ernment, lie  was  informed  by  the  proprietors  that  the  propo- 
sals made  to  the  settlers  on  Cape  Fear,  where  many  of  the  New 
England  colony  still  remained,  had  been  prepared  in  answer  to 
a  paper  forwarded  to  them  by  persons  who , desired  to  settle 
there  ;  but  were  not  intended  for  the  meridian  of  the  Albemarle 
conntiy,  where  they  hoped  he  would  find  a  more  facile  people, 
who,  by  his  influence,  would  settle  on  terms  more  favoraole  to 
the  proprietors.  He  was  authorized  to  establish  two  govern- 
ments, one  on  each  side  of  the  Chowan,  as  individuals,  anxious 
for  liberty  of  conscience,  might  desire  a  governor  of  their  own 
choosing  whom  those  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  might 
dishke.  All  this  seems  to  imply  that  the  popular  rights  and  the 
freedom  of  conscience  here  granted  was  only  for  selfish  purpo- 
ses, or  was  not  intended  to  be  perpetual ;  and  it  is  amusing  to 
oliserve  how  Sir  William,  who,  as  governor,  had  carried  his 

^'.M.iifin,  vol.  1.  p.  1.30.     ;\ViIli;tnisDn,  vol.  1,  p.  9;2,  note. 


liW'-E  Oi"  DAVID  GAUDVVE:LL,  D.D.  O.J 

higli  church  principles  so  far  in  Virginia,  could  change  his  course 
so  as  to  promote  his  interest  as  proprietor  in  Carolina.  Nor 
was  this  all :  The  settlement  on  the  Albemarle,  it  was  found, 
was  not  within  the  chartered  limits  of  Carolina ;  but  belonged 
to  Virginia,  The  proprietors  of  Carolina  applied  for  an  enlarge- 
ment of  their  charter;  and  obtained  one  extending  from  29°  to 
36°  30'  north  latitude.  Berkley,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
sufiering  his  feelings  of  interest  as  a  proprietor  to  overcome  his 
sense  of  duty  as  governor,  consented  to  the  alteration ;  and 
then,  probably  finding  their  knowledge  of  their  rights,  and  their 
love  of  liberty,  greater  than  had  been  anticipated,  he  did  not 
deem  it  prudent  "  to  discuss  the  principles  or  dispute  the  posses- 
sion of  these  bold  pioneers;"  but  appointed  William  Drummond, 
an  emigrant  to  Virginia  from  Scotland,  probably  a  Pres^^ytarian, 
a  man  of  prudence  and  popularity,  and  deeply  imbued  with  a 
passion  for  popular  liberty,  to  be  their  governor. 

The  second  charter,  though  not  differing  materially  from  the 
first,  was  perhaps  more  hberal  in  its  provisions,  or  more  toler- 
ant in  its  spirit ;  and  whether  it  admitted  of  any  dispute  or  not 
as  to  its  literal  meaning,  when  viewed  in  connexion  with  the 
terms  ofiered  by  proprietors  to  emigrants,  there  was  no  doubt  of 
its  having  been  violated  by  the  adoption  of  the  Test  act,  or  by 
any  other  measure  which  seriously  interfered  with  the  rights  of 
conscience.  However  the  colony  increased  gradually  in  popu- 
lation ;  and  prospered  in  every  way,under  Stephens  as  their  gov- 
ernor, and  a  simple  representative  form  of  government.  As 
there  appears  to  have  been  no  preachers  and  no  religion,  or  no 
public  worship,  there  was  no  occasion  for  any  disturbance  on 
that  score.  The  people  were  plain,  simple  planters ;  and  lived 
on  the  produce  of  the  soil  and  of  the  waters.  These  yielded 
their  products  in  abundance  ;  and  while  they  lived  in  plenty,  and 
at  their  ease,  for  the  present,  they  were  probably  careless  of  the 
future.  But  when  the  colony  was  prospering,  and  a  fair  pros- 
pect was  presented  of  its  becoming  numerous  and  powerful,  the 
proprietors  attempted  to  take  away  the  liberty  which  they  had 
granted.  The  fundamental  constitutions  drawn  up  by  the  cele- 
brated John  Locke,  with  the  assistance,  it  is  said,  of  Ashley  Coo- 
per, Earl  of  Shuftsbury^  tho  avowed  object  of  which  was,  "  to 


b6  LIFE  OF  JJAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.Cu 

make  the  government  of  the  colony  agree,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
with  the  monarchy  of  which  it  was  part,  and  to  avoid  creating  a 
numerous  democracy,"  were  adopted  in  March  1670,  and  im- 
mediately forwarded  to  Albemarle.  Besides  estabhyhing  or- 
ders of  nobility,  and  a  powerful  aristocracy,  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  a  stop  to  the  progress  of  republican  principles  and  man- 
ners, it  contained  an  arlicie  which  made  the  church  of  England 
the  established  church  ofCarolhia  forever.  These  constitutions 
were  rejected  by  the  people,  not  exrlusiveiy  or  chieliy,  it  is  sup- 
posed, on  account  of  this  article  ;  for  the  christian  world  had 
been  so  long  accustomed  to  a  religious  establisimient  that,  how- 
ever repugnant  it  might  be,  in  tiie  judgment  of  dissenters,  to 
what  was  right,  they  would  probably  have  been  contented  with 
a  generous  toleration  ;  but  the  whole  system  was  so  odious  on 
account  of  its  aristocratic  form  and  spirit,  and  was  so  directly 
subversive  of  that  equality  of  rights  which  they  had  previously 
enjoyed,  that  the  attempt  to  enforce  it,  together  with  the  restric- 
tions laid  on  their  commerce  a  few  years  afterwards,  led  to  a  re- 
bellion, or  rather  a  revolution,  headed  by  John  Culpepper — a 
man  "more  sinned  against  than  sinnh)g,"  as  to  this  matter — 
which  threw  the  country  into  confusion  for  years ;  and  peace 
could  not  be  restored  until  the  Grand  JModel,  as  it  was  termed, 
was  exchanged  in  1693  for  a  form  of  government  more  conge- 
nial with  their  sentiments  and  better  suited  to  their  condition. 

In  1672,  William  Edmundson  from  England,  a  preacher  in  the 
Quaker  society,  visited  his  Quaker  brethren  in  Albemarle  set- 
tlement; and  was  so  snccessful  that  he  formed  a  society  before 
lie  left — the  first  man  oi  any  denomination,  it  is  said,  who  held 
a  religious  meeting  or  organized  a  religious  society  in  North 
Carolina.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  George  Fox,  the 
father  of  the  sect,  having  made  his  way  through  the  wilderness, 
and  over  the  great  bogs  of  the  Dismal  Swamp,  was  received 
with  much  cordiality  in  a  region  which  had  always  been  the 
refuge  of  Quakers  and  "renegadoes"  from  ecclesiastical  oppres- 
sion. These  preachers  were  both  gratified  with  tlieir  success. 
Francis  Jones,  a  member  of  the  council,  and  other  persons  of 
distinction,  or  of  influence,  joined  their  society ;  and  a  monthly 
meeting  of  disripline  was  CFnablished.     Quaker  principles  are 


LIFi:  UK  DAViU   CAl.UU  Kl.l-.   U.V.  ),/ 

liivorable  to  liberty ;  and  are  perliaps  rather  deuioeratic  tluui 
republican.  Having  come  into  existence,  as  a  sect,  in  tlic  midst 
of  intolerance  and  oppression,  they  learned  at  once  to  contend, 
to  suifer,  and  to  forgive.  After  Fox  and  Edmmidson,  on  their 
visit  to  Albemarle,  had  so  effectually  reconnnended  their  prin- 
ciples to  the  governor,  the  chief  secretary  of  the  colony,  mem- 
bers of  the  council,  and  other  persons  of  influence,,  if  the  estab.- 
lishment  of  the  fundamental  constitutions  was  before  dhficult, 
it  was  riow  impossible  ;  and  peace  and  order  were  not  restored 
until  it  was  done  by  Quaker  influence.  The  high  toned  prerog^ 
ative  principles,  and  intolerant  measures  which  prevailed  in 
Virginia  had  been  driving  from  her  soil  a  most  valuable  part  of 
her  population,  the  no  n- con  for  mists  of  various  names,  who  most- 
ly sought  refuge  on  the  Albemarle  ;  and  if  that  party  in  Virginia 
chose  to  call  North  Carolina  "rogue's  harbor,"  or  "the  refuge 
of  runaways,  rogues,  and  reSe/^,"  because  those  who  were  so 
called,  but  who  were  really  fugitives  from  oppression,  and  the 
;idvocates  of  popular  liberty  and  the  rights  of  (Conscience  "  fled 
daily  to  Carolina  as  their  common  subterfuge  and  lurking  place," 
it  need  never  cause  her  sons  to  blush,  for  they  were  such  runa- 
ways, rogues  and  rebels  as  were  a  loss  to  Virginia,  and  a  gain 
to  Carolina.  They  made  resistance  to  oppression  here  more 
easy  and  certain ;  and  if  the  demand  of  that  government  for 
their  surrender  was  refused,  it  was  a  refusal  v/hich  seems  to 
have  been  justified  by  the  result  as  well  as  by  the  nature  of  the 
case.* 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  province,  which  included,  with  the 
settlement  on  Cape  Fear,  the  one  which  had  been  formed  in 
v\^hat  is  now  South  Carolina,  the  struggle  against  aristocratic 
power  seems  to  have  been  more  severe  and  protracted.  About 
a  month  before  the  fundamental  constitulions  were  signed  by 
liie  proprietors  in  England  in  1670,  a  company  sailed  for  Carols 
na,  under  the  conduct  of  Joseph  West  as  commercial  agent  for 
the  proprietors,  and  William  Sayle  who  was  to  be  then  gover- 
nor. He  was  probably  a  Presbyterian ;  and  his  govermnent 
extended  from  Cape  Carteret  as  far  south  as  the  Spaniards  would 
tolorate.t     Tiie  settlement  was  formed  on  Ashley  river,  and  h'e' 

*.C,nicrort,  \ ol.  2,  p.  157.     iBancroff,  vol.  2.-  p.  16B'. 


op  Lll'K    «F  DAVID  CAluWElL,  D.D. 

ronmit.-iiCL'd  ins  government  with  fair  prospects ;  but  soon  fell  a 
victim  to  ttie  climate.  The  government  of  Sir  John  Yearnans 
was  then  extended  over  this  settlement;  and  he  himself  removed 
thither  in  the  following  year.*  A  considerable  majority  of  the 
people,  were  -non-conformists  t — puritans  from  England  ;  Pres- 
byterians from  Scotland  and  Ireland ;  Dutch  from  Holland ;  and 
an  accession  of  the  same-ciass  from  New  York,  in  1674,  when 
that  province  was  taken  by  the  British.  There  was  also  a  par- 
ty who  were  attached  to  the  church  of  England  and  in  favor  of 
the  constitution  which  the  proprietors  were  endeavoring'to  es- 
tablish. "  Yearnans  was  the  son  of  a  cavalier,  a  needy  baronet, 
who,  to  mend  his.  fortune' had  become  a  Barbadoes  planter ;  ± 
and,  when  appointed  governor  of  Carolina,  endeavored  of  course 
to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  those  to  whom  he  owed  his  appoint- 
ment.. His  council  was  composed  of  men  who  had  the  same 
views  with  himself,  while  the  members  of  the  lower  house  ap- 
pear to  have  been  mostly  opposed  to  thes-e  views;  and  thus  a 
scene  of  confusion  and  violence  ensued  which  v/as  most  deplora- 
l:)le.  In  the  short  space  of  four  years,  from  168.2  'to  16S6  there 
were  five  governors ;  and  this  state  of  things  continued  until  a 
kind  of  revolution  was  effected  on  tlie  banks  of  Ashley  and  Coop- 
er rivers,  similar  to  that  which  had  been  effected  on  the  Albe- 
marle, by  which  Governor  Colleton  was  driven  out  there  in  1690, 
as  Governor  Miller,  in  1678,  had  been  in  the  northern  settlement. 
The  whole  province  of  Carolina  was  held  by  one  charter, 
and  belonged  to  the  same  proprietors  ;  and  therefore,  although 
there  were  two  distinct  settlements  with  governments  m  some 
respects  distinct,  there  was  a  unity  of  design  and  of  measures 
whicli  produced  pretty  much  the  same  results  in  both.§  The 
higli  church  party  having  gained  the  ascendancy,  exercised  so 
much  violence  and  such  disregard  to  the  rights  ojf  others,  that 
the  government  was  brought  into  contempt,  and  ruin  seemed  to 
threaten  the  country.  They  attempted  to  deprive  all  dissenters 
of  the  right  of  suffrage,  to  curtail  their  civil  privileges,  and  to 
Tender  their  situation  so  irksome  that  they  would  be  obhged  to 
ieave  the  colony.     A  pretty  large  body  of  French  huguenots 

'^Bancroft,  vol.  2,  p.  lOG.     fSinims'  Hist.  S.  C,  p.  57,  68,  58.     IBancroft, 
vol.  -J,  p.  1:37,  187.    fVViilianisoii,  vol.  1,  p.  14S,  1.50  ;,Sinimy,  jt.  bl. 


LIFE  OF  PAVID  CALDVVI'.LL,  D.D.  5.9 

having  been  driven  from  their  native  country  by  persecution, 
had  sought  in  Carohna  that  civil  and  religious  freedom  which  is, 
the  inaUenable  right  of  every  man  ;  but  instead  of  receiving  the 
kindness  and  hospitahty  to  which  they  were  entitled,  both  by 
tlieir  siiiierings  and  by  their  pr6testantism,  they  were  treated 
with  ha|-shness  and  contempt.  They  were  the  most  peaceful, 
industrious,  and  useful  people  in  the  country  ;  and  the  proprie- 
tors had  mtrusted  Governor  Ludwell  to  admit  them  to  the  same 
political  privileges  with  the  other  colonists ;  but  the  party  in 
power  refused  to  comply.  Being  aliens  they  were  incapable  of 
holding  lands  until  they  were,  naturahzed ;  and  this  party,  so 
hide  bound  and  aristocratic  in  their  notions,  not  only  refused,  at 
least  for  a  time,  to  naturalize  them,  but  declared  their  marriages 
by  ministers  who  had  not  been  episcopally  ordained,  illegal,  and 
their  children  illegitimate.*  With  a  view  to  quell  these  distur- 
bances and  get  matters  regulated,  the  proprietors  sent  over  John- 
Archdale,  who  was  himself  a  proprietor,  and  a  member  of  the 
Quaker  society  in  Englandi.  He  assumed  the  government  in 
1695;  and  uniting,  as  he  did,  the  firmness,  sagacity,  an^  pru- 
dence of  tlie  governor  with  the  philanthropy  and  command  of 
temper  for  which  the  members  of  that  society  are  usually  dis- 
tniguished,  he  overawed  the  turbulent  and  succeeded  most  hap- 
pily ui  restoring  order  and  prosperity  to  the  country.  Although 
averse  to  war  and  the  shedding  of  blood,  he  thought  it  best,  iu 
the  existing  circumstances  of  the  country,  to  make  preparation 
for  defence.  With  this  view  he  had  a  militia  law  passed, 
though  in  the  spirit  of  toleration,  and  with  an  exemption  in  fa- 
vor of  those  who  are  restrained  by  conscientious  scruples  from 
bearing  ^rms,  which  has  been  ever  since  retained  in  our  code 
with  perhaps  some  temporary  modifications.  He  determined, 
however,  to  carry  out  his  pacific  principles,  as  far  as  it  could  be 
done,  in  his  intercourse  with  all  concerned  ;  and  he  was  not  dis- 
appointed. He  pursued  the  same  course  with  the  Indians  that 
William  Penn  had  done  in  Pennsylvania,  and  with  the  same- 
succcss.t  In  every  way  he  managed  so  as  to  make  no  enemies 
and  secure  the  friendship  of  all.     He   received,  as  he  deserved, 

*Simms,  p.  79.     Williamson,  vol.  1,  p.  1.">1. 
fWilliamson,  vol.  1,  p.  152-15.5. 


(10  LIFE   OK  DAVIU  C'ALDWELL,  D.D. 

file  gratitude  of  aUpartios,  and  his  name  will  be  revered  while 
Qur  institutions  remain, , 

After  Archdale  left  the  colony  the  intolerance  of  the  high 
<'}uirch  })arty  v/as  exerted  with  increased  energy  and  witli  tem- 
]>orary  success.  L6rd  Granville^  a  zealous  member  of  tlie 
church  of  England,  was  now  palatine  of  Carolina  ;  and  exert- 
ed all  his  influence  to  get  that  church  established  in  the  prov- 
ince. Accordingly  he  instructed  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson,  who, 
in  1703,  was  appointed  governor  of  the  southern  colony,  to  pro- 
mote the  passage  of  a  law  for  that  purpose.  As  he  had  been 
suspected  by  Queen  Anne  of  not  having  been  very  favorable  to 
the  revolution,  he  was  obliged  t^  (Qualify  for  this  office  in  the 
juanner  required  by  the  laws  of  England,  and  to  give  security 
for  his  faithful  observance  of  the.  laws  of  trade  and  navigation, 
j'.nd  for  his  obedience  to  such  instructions  as  she  might  from 
time  to  time  give  him.  Having  been  thus  instructed,  and  being 
assisted  by  the  principal  ofRcers  in  his  part  of  the  province,  iie 
cxei-ted  himself  with  so  much  zeal  and  success  as  to  procure 
the  election  of  a  sufficient  number  to  carry  his  point.  Great 
opposition. was  made  to  the  bill,  but  it  passed  into  a  law,  and 
was  ratified  by  the  lords  proprietors.  This  part  of  the  prov- 
ince was  divided  into  ten  parishes  ;  provision  was  made  for  the 
support  of  ministers,  the  purchase  of  glebes,  erection  of  clnirch- 
es,  &c. ;  and  an  act  was  passed  requiring  members  of  assembly 
to  conform  to  the  religious  worship  in  the  province,  according 
to  the  church  of  England,  and  to  qualify  for  office  by  receiving 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  jites  and 
usages  of  that  church.*  .  This  was  an  act 'of  the  most  rigid  con- 
formity ;  and  betrayed  in  this  otherwise  peaceful  and  happy 
country  all  the  Mgotry  and  intolerance  which  had  disgraced  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  in  England. 

The  inhabitants  of  Colleton,  who  were  mostly  dissenters,  sent 
John  Ash,  a  man  of  influence  among  them,  to  lay  their  griev- 
ances before  the  lords  proprietors  ;  but  the  governor  prevented 
him  from  embarking  at  Charleston,  and  he  had  to  travel  by  land 
to  Virginia.  On  his  way  through  Albemarle,  the  people  of  that 
settlement  generally,  approving  of  his  object,  prevniled  on  Ed- 

*Marlin,  vol.  1,  p.  217-210. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.P.  6"! 

miind  Porter  to  accompany  liim,  as  deputy,  on  their  belialf. — 
Unable  to  obtain  relief  from  the  proprietors,  he  would  have  laid 
the  grievances  of  the  people  before  parliament,,  but  was  preven- 
ted^ by  death,  and  his  papers  fell  into  the  hands  of  those  whose 
interest  it  was  to  suppress  them.  In  the  mean  time  the  intrepid 
governor  suffered  no  obstacle  to  obstruct  or  impede  his  progress. 
A  corporation,  composed  of  twenty  individuals,  was  instituted, 
with  judicial  power  in  ecclesiastial  matters.  It  had  power  to 
deprive  ministers  of  their  livings ;  and  the  acts  of  the  legislature 
were  executed  with  the  utmost  rigor.  This  was  in  direct  vio- 
lation of  the  chai'tered  rights  of  the  colonists ;  the  dissenters, 
whom  it  was  designed  to  exclude  from  a  seat  in  the  assembly, 
and  from  places  of  trust  or  profit,  were  exasperated;  and  all 
was  in  confusion.  . 

In  the  next  spring  the  authority  of  Sir  Nathaniel  was  extended 
over  the  northern  part  of  the  province,  which  was  left  without 
an  executive  head,  by  the  death  of  president  Walker  ;  and  he 
appointed  Robert  Daniel  to  succeed  Walker,  as  deputy  governor, 
with  a  strict  charge  to  have  the  church  of  England  established 
by  law.  The  bill  which  was  introduced  for  this  purpose,  met 
with  strong  opposition,  but  the  address  and  influence  of  the 
governor,  secured  its  passage.*  The  spirit  of  intolerance  had 
been  increasing  with  the  growth  of  the  province;  for  the  con- 
stant influence  of  executive  patronage,  and  numerous  emigra- 
tions from  Virginia,  had  given  the  high  church  party  a  majority 
in  the  legislature.t  According  to  the  above  act,  any  man  hold- 
ing a  place  of  trust,  was  subjected  to  a  fine,  who  neglected  to 
qualify  himself,  by  taking  the  oath  which  the  law  required.-^ 
This  part  of  the  province  was  now  divided  into  parishes,  as  the 
othcrhad  been ;  and  provision  was  made  for  building  churches, 
laying  out  glebes,  and  making  appropriations  for  the  support  of 
tl  le  clergy.  The  people,  who  were  not  so  obsequious  to  the  will  of 
tlie  governor  as  the  melnbers  of  the  assembly  had  been,  at 
once  manifested  their  purpose  not  to  submit ;  and  the  Quakers 
who  composed  a  large  part  of  the  population  in  Pasquotank  and 
Perquimons,  seemed  disposed  to  sacrifice  their  pacific  principles, 
if  necessary,  to -the  preservation  of  their  rights.     But  the  dissen- 

*Martin,  vol.  1,  p.  220.    fWilliamson,  vol.  1,  p.  16{^. 


62  LIFE  OF  PAVID  CALDWELL^  D.D. 

ters,  in  the  tWQ  parts  of  the  provmce,  united  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  their  coriiplaints  before  the  throne;  and  Joseph  Boon  was 
sent  to  England  with  a  petition  to  the  house  of  lords.  That 
"body  came  to  the  resolution  that  "the  laws  complained  of,  were 
founded  on  falsity  in  matter  of  fact,  repugnant  to  the  laws  of 
England,  contrary  to  the  charter  of  the  lords  proprietors,  an 
encouragement  to  atheism  and  irreligion,  destructive  to  trade, 
and  tended  to  the  depopulation  and  ruin  of  the  province." — 
They  next  addre-ssed  the  queen,  and -besought  her  to  take  mea- 
sures for  delivering  the  province  from  "  the  arbitrary  oppression 
imder  which  it  lay,  and  having  the  proprietors  of  if  prosecuted 
according  to  law."  The  lords  commissioners  of  trade  and  plan- 
tations, to  whom  it  was  referred,-  sustained  the  resolution  of  the 
house  of  lords,  and  recommended  that  process  be  issued  against 
the  proprietors  accordingly.  The  qiieen's  lawyers  were  directed 
to  procure  a  writ  of  quo  warranto,  and  to  report  what  more 
sliould  be  done,  that  the  queen  miglit  take  the  government  of 
Carolina  into  her  own  hands  ;*  but  it  was  abandoned,  and  the 
people  were  left  without  relief. 

Two  years  before,  (1702,)  the  assembly  passed  an  act  raising 
thirty  pounds  currency  in  each  precinct,  towards  the  support  of 
a  minister.  In  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  the  first  Episcopal 
minister  arrived,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blair,  who  had  been  sent  out  by 
lord  Weymouth,  and  was  supported  principally  at  his  expense  ; 
l)ut  he  soon  found  it  so  difHcult  to  give  satisfaction,  and  to  en- 
dure the  hardships  of  his  situation,  that  he  returned  to  England.t 
In  1705  the  first  church  erected  in  the  province  was  built  in 
Chowan  precinct;  and  in  the  following  year  a  larger  one  was 
built  in  Pcrqaimons.  About  the  beginning  of  the  following 
year,  two  Episcopal  ministers  arrived,  the  Rev.  JMessrs.  Adams 
and  Gordon,  who  were  sent  out  by  the  society  Avhich  had  been 
cstablistied  in  England  in  1702,  for  the  propagation  of  the  gos- 
pel in  foreign  parts ;  and  they  took  charge  of  the  churches  al- 
ready mentioned,  with  the  parishes  to  which  they  belo'nged.f 

It  seems  that  dissenting  ministers  were  not  allowed  to  solemn- 
ize the  rite  of  marriage ;  but  a  magistrate  might  perform  this 
ceremony,  provided  there  was  no  minister  in  the  pm'ish,-^oth- 

=^\Iar{in,  vol.  1 ,  p.  220.    |VVi!Iiams^nn,  vol.  t,  p.  in«     piartin,  vol.  1,  p.  •2f50 


LIFJi  OK  PAVID  fAianvEi-r,,  D.D.  t).> 

erwisc  he  was  subject  to  a  fine  of  five  pounds,  j^revious  to  this, 
marriage  had  been  considered  a  mere  civil  contract;  and  all 
that  was  required  of  persons  wishing  to  marry  was  to  signify 
their  mutual  consent  in  presence  of  the  governor,  or  any  mem- 
ber of  the  council,  with  a  few  neighbors  as  witnesses;  but  after 
the  church  of  England  was  established,  a  minister  of  that  church, 
if  to  be  had,  was  necessary  to  render  a  marriage  valid,  though 
in  case  of  the  absence  or  default  of  such,  a  magistrate  might  act. 
Dissenters  were  allowed  to  ivorship  in  public,  but  subject  to 
such  rules,  regulations  and  restrictions  as.  were  contained  in  the 
several  acts  of  the  British  parliament.*  Quakers  were  permit- 
ted to  affirm  instead  of  swearing ;  but  they  could  not  in  this 
way  give  evidence  in  any  criminal  case,  nor  serve  on  a  jury, 
nor  obtain  a  seat  in  the  legislature,t  nor  hold  any  office  of  profit 
or  trust.  But  such  encroachments  could  not  be  quietly  made  on 
the  liberties  of  a  people  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  feel 
themselves  as  free  as  the  living  orders  of  creation  around  them ; 
and  who  had  in  one  instance  at  least,  and  to  a  gratifying  extent, 
resisted  the  exercise  of  aristocratic. or  arbitrary  power.  The  es- 
tablishment of  the  cliurch,  with  tlie  consequent  taxation  for  its 
support,  and  the  infringement  on  the  rights  of  conscience,  seems 
to  have  given  rise  to'the  contest  between  Thomas  Carey  and 
William  Glover,  for  the  highest  office  in  the  colony.  The  former 
had  been  appointed  by  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson  as  deputy  gover- 
nor of  the  northern  part  of  the  province  ;  but  the  proprietors 
disapproved  of  the  appointment,  and  directed  their  deputies  hero 
to  elect  one  from  among  themselves  as  president  and  commander- 
in-chief.  Glover  was  chosen ;  but  was  strongly  opposed  by 
those  over  whom  his  authority  was  extended.  The  Quakers, 
whose  numbers  aiid  influence  had  long  given  tone  to  public 
sentiment,  took  part  with  Carey  ;±  and  so  did  many  others  who 
felt  that  not  only  their  natural,  but  their  chartered  rights,  or  the 
promises  made  to  them  at  first  by  the  proprietors,  had  been  vio- 
lated. Most  of  the  other  colonies  were  settled  by  men  to  whom 
the  tyrannical  or  oppressive  governments  of  the  old  world  were 
intolerable  ;  and  they  had  frequent  and  hard  contests  with  the 

*Williamson,  vol.  1,  p.  168.     t^^artin,  vol  1,  p.  22'9. 
fMiiTti-ri-,  vci?.  1,  p.  Viis  127;  Wh 


*}l  LIFE  Oi-  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

tools  of  arbitrary  power ;  but  North  Carolina  was  settled  by 
"  the  freest  ©f-  the  free," — -by  men  who  had  exchanged  other 
countries  with  their  advantages  and  disadvantages ;  their  great- 
er safety  and  superior  comforts ;  their  intolerant  spirit  and  op- 
pressive nieasurses;  for  a  residence  far  from  the  abodes  of  civil- 
ized society,  where  they  might  enjoy  the  freedom  of  nature  ; 
and  from  the  time  that  British  authority  was  extended  over  them, 
they  had  become  accustomed  to  revohition,  or  to  resist  the  un- 
just demands  of  those  in  power.  When  the  proprietors  first  un- 
dertook to  establish  their  authority  on' the  Albemarle,  they  were 
obliged  to  compromise  matters;  as  we  have  seen,  with  those 
-who  had,  years  before,  purchased  land  of  the  Indians,  and  who 
considered  themselves  lords  of  the  soil*  The  attempt  to  estab- 
lish the  fundamental  constitutions  of  Locke,  a  few  years  after- 
wards, met  with  such  determined  opposition  that  they  were  ob- 
liged to  abandon  it,  and.  leave  the  people  to  the  exercise  of  such 
a  representative  government  as  had  been  at  first  granted.  It 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  a  law  eould  be  passed  establishing 
the  church  of  England,;  and  the  attempt  to,  enforce  it  met  with 
a  bold  and  strenubus  opposition. 

But  the  men  in  power,  by  the  exercise  of  authority  and  pat- 
ronage combined,  generally  succeeded,  during  the  infancy  and 
minority  of  the  colony,  in  obtaining  the  enactment  of  such  laws 
as  they  wished  ;  and  in  putting  them  into  operation  to  some  ex- 
tent. The  Quakers  appear  to  have  been  a  thorn  in  the  side  of 
the  governors  wlio  were  at  this  })eriod  the  instruments  of  op- 
pression ;  and  heavy  complaints  were  made  against  them.  To 
president  Glover  they  paid  no  respect,  or  none  such  as  he  wish- 
ed ;  for  "  they  would  shew  themselves  singular,  coming  to  the 
table  with  their  hats  on,  laying  their  hands  on  the  book,  repeat- 
ing the  words  of  the  oath,  but  using  the  word  declare  instead  of 
tiie  word  swear,  and  then,  having  their  explanation  of  the  sense 
or  meaning  in  whicli  they  took  it  entered  underneath,  they  sub- 
scribed without  kissing  the  book,  and  declared  they  took  it  in 
that  sense  and  no  other."  So  it  appears  that  there  was  then  no 
toleration  given  them  ;  or  that  there  was  at  least  an  attempt 
made  to  compel   them  to  takf*  an  bath.     Tlic^mas- Pollock  who 

'"JuiuiCrolt,  vol.  2,  p.  \'^y. 


LIFE  OK  DAVID    CALDWRll,   I).I>.  '»•'» 

succeeded  governor  Hyde  as  president  and  commander-in-chief, 
in  a  letter  to  Lord  Craven,  attributes  the  disturbances  and  ca- 
lamities of  tliat  period  to  "  the  machinations  of  the  Quakers." 
"  Our  divisions,  chiefly  occasioned  by  the  Quakers  and  some 
other  ill-disposed  persons,"  he  says  "  have  been  the  cause  of  all 
our  troubles."  Again,  he  says  that  they  had  been  "  a  great  oc- 
casion of  the  war"  with  the  Indians ;  for  by  their  disobedience 
to  the  government,  and  the  encouragement  they  gave  others  to 
imitate  them,  they  had  been  the  chief  cause  of  its  not  having 
been  carried  on  with  sufficient  vigor.  "  In  some  of  the  precincts, 
being  the  most  numerous  in  the  election  fields,  they  chose  such 
members  of  the  Assembly  as  would  oppose  what  was  necessary 
to  carry  on  the  war.  The  generality  of  the  people,  seeing  that 
the  Quakers,  from  their  disobedience  and  opposition  to  the  gov- 
ernment, rose  actually  in  arms,  and  attacked  the  governor  and 
council,  without  any  manner  of  punishment,  were  emboldened 
to  do  the  like,  and  seemed  to  want  a  leader  only  to  raise  another 
insurrection."  Yet  in  a  subsequent  letter  to  another  of  the  pro- 
prietors, he  tells  us  that  although  the  Quakers  had  been  very  re- 
fractory under  the  administrations  of  Glover  and  Hyde,  they  had 
been  peaceable  luider  his  :  and  had  been  as  ready  in  supplying 
the  troops  with  provisions  as  any  of  the  other  inhabitants.  It 
would  seem  then  that  if  they  "  did  rise  actually  in  arms  and  at- 
tack the  governor  and  council,"  in  the  time  of  Glover  and  Hyde, 
there  must  have  been  great  cause  for  it,  or  they  must  have  al- 
tered very  much  in  a  short  time ;  and  if  North  Carolina  had 
ever  "been  the  paradise  of  Quakers"  it  was  not  so  when  those 
men  were  in  power. 

In  1715  the  Assembly  met  at  the  house  of  John  Hecklefield, 
one  of  the  deputies,  who  hved  on  Little  river,  a  stream  that  di- 
vides the  counties  of  Pasquotank  and  Perquimons.  An  act  was 
passed,  entitled,  An  act^  for  establishing  the  church  and  up-r 
pointing  select  vestries.  The  country  was  divided  into  nine 
parishes;  and  twelve  vestrymen  and  tM^o  church  wardens  were 
appointed  in  each.  They  were  directed  to  procure  ministers, 
purchase  glebes,  build  churches  &c.;  and  for  defraying  these  and 
all  other  parish  expenses  they  were  empowered  to  levy  a  poll 
tax  to  tlie  amount  of  five  shillings  per  pull.     If  they  ^irocuretl  a- 


6.t)  LIKi:  OF  DAVIU  CALD\V\tLL,  D.B. 

minister   they  were  to  give  him  a  salary  of  not  less  than  fifty 
pounds  per  annum,  and  he  was  allowed  a  certain  fee  for  every 
marriage.     It.  repealed  or  took  the  place  of  former  acts  on  this 
subject ;  and  the  only  notice  it  takes  of  dissenters  is  a  clause  ex- 
empting them  from  the  fine  of  three  pounds  imposed  on  others 
for  neglecting  or  refusing  to  qualify  and  serve  according  to  the 
act  when  elected  as  vestrymen  or  church  wardens.     The  act 
•  never  was  printed ;  for  it  was  repealed  or  substituted  by  another 
before  there  was  any  printed  revisal  of  the  laws ;  but  it  is  among 
the  earliest  legislative  records  that  have  been  preserved ;  and  it 
appears  to  have  continued  in  force,  without  any  material  altera- 
tion or  amendment,  for  about  twenty-six  years.     At  a  biennial 
session  of  the  assembly  held  in  the  same  year  at  the  house  of 
Capt.  Richard  Sanderson  on  Little  river,  an  act  was  passed  enti- 
tled, An  act  for  the  more  effectual  observing  of  the  Queen's 
jjeace,  &.C.*  which  shewed  the  spirit  of  the  party  in  power,  and 
Avas  a  near  approximation  to  the  severity  ex;(^,rcised  under  the 
act  of  uniformity  in  -England.     After  a  preamble  which  gives  a 
sad  picture  of  the  recent  "  revolutions  "  and  troubles  in  the  pro- 
vince, it  was  enacted  that  all  persons  who  might  at  any  time 
"speak  any  seditious  words  or  speeches,  or  spread  abroad  false 
news,  write  or  dispense  scurrilous  libels  against  the  present  gov- 
ernment now  lawfully  established,  &c.  should  be  reputed  as  utter 
enemies  of  the  queen's  peace ;  and  should  be  punished  at  the 
discretion  of  the  justices  of  the  general  court,  by  fines,  imprison- 
ment, pillory,  or  otherwise ;  that  they  should  be  compelled  to 
give  good  and  sufficient  security  for  their  good  behaviour  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  court ;  that  they  should  be  incapable  of  hold- 
ing any  office  of  profit  or   trust  in  the  government ;  and  that 
those  who  might  at  any  time  know  of  such  evil  practices  as  afore- 
said and  concealed  the  same,  should  be  punished  as  if  they  them- 
selves had  committed  such  crimes."     It  was  then  enacted  that  the 
laws  of  England  should  be  the  laws  of  this  colony,  so  far  as  they 
were  compatible  with  our  way  of  living  and  trade ;  that  no 
person  should  hold  any  commission,  office,  or  place  of  trust  what- 
ever, without  first  having  qualified  himself  according  to  the 
.strictness  of  tlie  laws  of  Great  Britain,  now  in  force,  under  the 
*Davis'  First  Revisal,  p.  l(). 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  C7 

penalty  of  one  hundred  pounds;  that  the  common  law  of  Eng- 
land should  be  in  force  in  this  government,  except  such  parts  in 
the  practice  as  could  not  be  put  in  execution  for  the  want  of 
certain  officers;  and  that  the  statute  laws  made  for  maintaining 
the  queen's  royal  prerogative,  the  security  of  her  royal  person, 
the  succession  of  the  crown,  the  establishment  of  the  church,  the 
indulgence  to  protestant  dissenters,  &c.,  should  be  in  force  here. 

The  people  of  the  southern  part  of  the  province  having  be- 
come heartily  tired  of  the  proprietary  government,  and  finding 
a  fiivorable  opportunity,  resisted  the  authority  of  those  whom 
they  had  long  regarded,  not  as  protectors,  but  as  oppressors  ;  and 
in  1719,  eflected  a  revolution  without  bloodshed,  which  was 
followed  by  thirty  years,  or  more,  of  comparative  quiet  and 
prosperity.  The  right  of  the  proprietors  was  not  formally  re- 
hnquished  for  several  years;  but  a  governor  was  appointed  im- 
mediately by  the  king ;  and  his  authority  was,  from  this  time, 
acknowledged  by  the  people,  and  practically  exercised  in  that 
part  of  the  province.*  This  revolution  did  not  extend  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  province  ;  but  the  people  here  appear  to 
have  remained  quiet  under  the  proprietary  government  until 
172S,t  when  the  proprietors  resigned  their  charter  to  the  king. 
The  whole  province  then  passed  under  the  regal  government, 
and  was  divided  into  North  and  South  Carolina  ;  but  the  church 
of  England  continued  to  be  the  established  church  in  both  these 
provinces,  as  it  did  in  Virginia,  until  the  Revolution.  In  North 
Carolina,  the  act  for  the  establishment  of  the  clnu'ch,  underwent 
from  time  to  time  various  alterations,  some  times  for  the  better, 
and  some  times  for  the  worse,  or  some  times  with  more  and 
some  times  with  less  indulgence  to  dissenters  ;  but  nothing  like 
religious  liberty  was  ever  granted  by  law.  The  object  of  the 
violent  encroachments  made  upon  the  civil  rights  of  the  people 
here,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  appears  to  have  been  the 
secure  establishment  of  the  church  of  England  ;  and  this  was 
done  under  the  influence  of  the  alarm  excited  by  the  bishops  in 
the  time  of  William, J  who,  at  first,  shewed  himself  a  friend  to 
the  rights  of  conscience.  But  when  the  law  had  once  been 
passed  it  could  not  be  repealed  or  abrogated,  except  by  an  entire 
=^Lirc  of  Green,  vol.  1,  p.252;  fMarlin,  vol.l,p.288.   ILife  of  Green,  vol.l.p.248 


68  LII'E  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

tcvolutioii  in  the  government ;  for  the  governor,  who  was  ap 
]-)oinfed  by  the  proprietors  while  their  autliority  continued,  and 
afterwards  by  the  king,  had  a  veto  power  on  all  laws,  and  was 
'almost  sure  to  be  sustained  in  tlie  exercise  of  it  by  the  council, 
who  were  appointed  either  by  the  same  transatlantic  authority, 
or  by  himself.  Besides,  the  establishment  of  the  church  in- 
creased the  patronage  and  power  of  the  governor;  and  after 
all^  any  act  passed  here,  though  it  had  the  sanction  of  the  gov- 
ernor, might  be  disapproved  by  the  higher  power  in  England. 
Thus  the  aristocratic  or  high-toned  party,  though  a  minority,  tri- 
imiphed  over  the  liberties  of  Carolina  ;  and  continued  to  enjoy 
the  triumph  with  some  hmitations  tmtilthe  Revolution  of  1776  ; 
for  besides  occasional  appropriations  from  the  common  treasury 
of  the  colony  for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  the  inhabitants,  of  what- 
ever creed  or  religious  profession,  were  compelled  to  pay  a  tax 
for  the  erection  of  churches,  the  purchase  of  glebes,  and  the 
support  of  ministers  in  the  established  church.  In  South  Caro- 
lina the  assessment  was  made  and  levied,  for  a  nmnber  of  years, 
by  a  board  of  commissioners  constituted  for  the  purpose,  and 
endowed  with  ample  power;  so  that  the  salaries  for  the  minis- 
ters, in  the  respective  parishes,  were  levied  independent  even 
of  the  legislature  of  the  State.  In  North  Carohna  this  was  not 
the  case  ;  and  if  it  had  been  attempted,  probably  another  Cul- 
pepper would  have  arisen  up,  who,  with  the  Quakers  and  other 
non-conformists,  constituting,  as  they  did,  a  large  majority,  to 
stand  at  his  back,  would  have  imprisoned  the  whole  board  of 
commissioners,  with  the  governor  at  their  head  ;  and  would 
have  taken  the  whole  business  into  his  own  hands.  Here  some 
appearance  of  liberty  was  maintained ;  for  the  tax  was  layed  by 
the  vestrymen,  and  they  were  chosen  by  the  people. 

in  April,  1741,  an  act  was  passed,  entitled  an  act  for  estab- 
lishing the  church,  for  appointing  parishes,  and  the  method  of 
electing  vestries ;  and  for  directing  the  settlement  of  parish  ac- 
counts throughout  this  government,  which  makes  no  radical  al- 
teration in  the  former.  The  taxes  which  were  assessed  by  the 
vestrymen  were  to  be  collected  by  the  sheriff  like  other  taxes  ; 
the  minister  was  to  reside  constantly  in  the  parish,  and  not  omit 
«#icia{ing  in  the  church  or  chapels,  unless  prevented  bysickneiss 


UIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  69 

or  permiftcd  bjr  the  vestry  to  officiate  in  vacant  places,  &c.;  but 
known  dissenters  from  the  church  of  England  were  exempt,  as 
before,  merely  from  being  compelled  to  qualify  and  serve  as  ves- 
trymen.* This  act  was  amended  in  1751,  so  that  vestrymen 
were  to  be  elected  by  ballot ;  all  were  allowed  to  vote  who  were 
entitled  to  vote  for  members  of  assembly ;  any  one  might  be 
chosen  as  vestrym.an  who  was  eligible  to  the  assembly  ;  and 
members  of  his  majesty's  council  might  vote  and  be  voted  for, 
which  had  not  formerly  been  the  case.t  The  legislature  was 
often  occupied  in  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  church  ;  and 
whenever  a  new  county  was  formed,  it  was,  at  the  same  time, 
constituted  a  parish.  The  tax  appears  to  have  been  exclusively 
a  jmll  tax  ;  and  this  bore  hard  on  the  poor,  while  to  the  weal- 
thy, who  had  nothing  to  pay  for  tlieir  lands  or  merchandize,  it 
was  a  mere  song.  From  history,  and  from  the  acts  and  records 
of  the  legislature,  we  learn  that  there  was,  on  this  and  on  every 
thing  else  that  concerned  the  liberties  and  welfare  of  the  people, 
almost  a  constant  struggle  between  the  upper  and  lower  house  ; 
or  between  the  governor  and  council,  and  the  popular  branch  of 
the  assembly.  The  maintenance  and  advancement  of  the 
church,  as  a  means  of  sustaining,  if  not  of  extending,  their 
power,  seems  to  have  been  a  prominent  object  with  the  former ; 
while  the  aim  of  the  latter  was  to  diminish  that  power  and  to 
secure  the  freedom  which  they  so  highly  prized  ;  and  it  was  sel- 
dom that  either  could  carry  a  measure,  except  in  a  way  of  com- 
promise, that  is,  by  yielding  something  \vhich  was  desired  by 
the  other. 

That  the  church  establishment  was  irksome  to  the  people  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  they  fell  on  the  plan  of  electing  men 
as  vestrymen  who,  they  were  aware,  would  not  serve  ;J  and 
this  prevailed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  call  for  the  attention  of  the 
legislature.  An  act  was  passed  to  put  a  stop  to  such  undutiful 
conduct  in  future,  and  prevent  the  alarming  evils  which  might 
arise  out  of  it.  This  was  not  all;  for  it  appears  that  the  people 
also  got  into  the  habit  of  absenting  themselves  from  the  polls 
and  taking  no  part  in  the  election.  The  advocates  of  the  churck 
establishment,  as  if  they  supposed  this  was  all  owing  to  the  in 

*Svvann's  Revisal,  p.  156.   fSwann's  Revisal,  p.  352.   ^Martin,  vol.2  p.  91. 


/O  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

fluence  of  dissenters,  who  were  now  becoming  numerous  in  the 
province,  seem  to  haA'^e  been  resolved  on  exerting  their  power 
to  the  full  extent,  for  they  passed  a  law  embracing  both  electors 
and  elected  vestrymen.  The  assembly  which  met  at  Wilming- 
ton, Jan.  30th,  1764,  enacted,  among  other  things,  that  all  per- 
sons qualified  to  vote  for  vestrymen  in  their  respective  parishes, 
(the  people  called  Quakers  excepted)  should  attend  and  give 
their  vote  for  vestrymen,  in  the  manner  before  directed,  unless 
prevented  by  some  bodily  infirmity,  or  legal  disability,  under  a 
penalty  of  twenty  shillings,  proclamation  money,  to  be  recover- 
ed by  a  warrant  from  any  justice  of  the  peace  within  the  coun- 
ty, provided  that  such  penalty  was  sued  for  within  ten  days  af- 
ter it  was  incurred.  A  man  was  a  free  holder  who  had  posses- 
sion of  fifty  acres  of  land  for  life,  or  a  lot  in  some  town  within 
the  limits  of  his  parish  ;  and  any  freeholder  (Quakers  excepted) 
might  be  elected  a  vestryman.  Then  he  must  take  before  some 
magistrate,  and  in  presence  of  the  vestry,  the  oaths  appointed  by 
law  to  be  taken  by  public  officers ;  and  repeat,  and  subscribe  in 
the  vestry  book,  the  follovving  declaration,  viz  :  I,  A  B,  will  not 
oppose  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  liturgy  of  the  church  of 
England,  as  by  law  established.  It  was  further  enacted  that 
every  person  chosen  as  a  vestryman  in  any  parish,  and  duly 
summoned,  who  might  refuse  or  neglect  to  qualify  agreeably  to 
the  directions  of  this  act,  if  a  known  dissenter  from  the  church 
of  England,  should  forfeit  and  pay  the  simi  of  three  pounds, 
proclamation  money,  to  be  recovered  as  other  fines  in  this  act 
directed.*  This  was  amended  by  the  assembly  which  met  in 
Newbern,  Nov.  3d.,  17G8,  so  as  to  extend  the  penalty  on  dissen- 
ters for  refusing  to  qualify  and  act  when  elected  as  vestrymen 
to  every  person  who  might  be  chosen  as  a  vestryman ;  and  from 
the  operation  of  this  law  none  but  Quakers  were  exempt.! — 
These  laws  may  not  have  been  rigidly  enforced  throughout  the 
whole  State ;  nor  is  it  probable  that  it  could  be  done  at  this  pe- 
riod, and  with  the  large  accession  which  had  been  made  to  the 
population  by  emigrants  who  were  advocates  of  civil  and  reli- 
gious freedom. 

The  design  in  presenting  these  facts  is  not  to  raise  any  objec- 
*I)iivis'  1st  Revisal,  p.  :H7.     tl>avis'  2nd  llovisa'  p.  433. 


LIFE  OF  DAVl-I)  CALDWELL,  J).I).  71 

tion  or  excite  any  hostile  feelings  against  the  E])isco})al  church 
as  Episcopal',  for  as  such  they  do  not  affect  it;  but  as  it  was 
then  a  religious  establishment,  united  with  the  civil  power,  and 
employing  that  power  for  its  support  and  extension ;  and  the 
same  objection  would  lie  against  the  legal  establishment  of  any 
other  denomination.  All  intention  of  making,  in  this  work,  any 
sort  of  attack  upon  other  religious  communions  in  our  country,  is 
utterly  disclaimed  by  the  writer ;  but  it  is  as  important  surely 
that  we  sliould  keep  in  view  the  religious  oppression,  as  that  we 
should  remember  the  civil  tyrranny,  from  which  we  were  deliv- 
ered by  the  valor  and  patriotism  of  our  forefathers.  That  a 
man  should  be  obliged  to  pay  a  tax  of  four  or  five  shillings  an- 
nually, or  any  sum,  for  supporting  a  form  of  worship  which  he 
conscientiously  believed  to  be  wrong,  or  was  at  least  irksome  to 
him,  was  a  greater  violation  of  his  rights  and  more  injurious  in  its 
effects,  than  that  he  should  be  compelled  to  pay  a  penny  on  every 
pound  of  tobacco  he  sent  to  market,  or  a  few  cents  on  every 
pound  of  tea  he  used ;  yet  the  latter,  or  the  principle  which  led 
to  the  imposition  of  such  a  tax,  is  constantly  spoken  of  as  a  main 
cause  of  the  revolution.  They  who  interfere  with  the  rights  of 
conscience  are  no  friends  either  to  religion  or  to  their  country; 
for  the  supremacy  of  conscience  must  be  maintained,  or  the  best 
safeguard  to  moral  rectitude  is  gone.  Moral  principle  is  always 
weakened  by  every  successful  temptation  to  violate  the  dictates 
of  conscience;  and  such  temptations  must  be  found  by  many  un- 
der every  religious  establishment,  in  the  fear  of  incurring  the 
penalty  by  refusing  to  conform,  on  the  one  hand ;  and  in  the  pros- 
pect of  gain  or  promotion  on  the  other,  by  yielding  an  implicit 
obedience.  Whether  one  form  of  church  government  has  a 
greater  tendency  than  another  to  unite  with  the  state,  and  to  be- 
come overbearing  and  intolerant ;  or  whether  there  ever  has 
been  a  case  in  which  the  benefits  were  greater  than  the  evils  re- 
sulting from  the  legal  establishment  of  religion  under  any  form, 
are  matters  the  discussion  of  which,  if  any  discussion  be  necessa- 
ry, must  be  left  for  those  who  are  more  competent  to  the  task ; 
but  we  may  be  allowed  to  contemplate  the  grievances  from 
which  we  have  been  delivered,  as  the  Israelites  of  old  were  re- 
cjuired  to  remombcr  their  bondage  in  Egypt ;  and  perhaps  it  is 


I  .i  LIKE    OK   VAVIU  CAloVVKLL,  U.l). 

a  duty  to  pkice  before  our  minds,  whenever  occasion  oilers,  the 
oppressions  and  evils  of  the  past  in  full  contrast  with  the  privi- 
leges and  blessings  of  tlie  present,  for  the  purpose  of  i^eeping  alive 
our  gratitude  to  the  author  of  all  good,  and  of  inanitaining  the 
vigilance  and  firmness  necessary  to  preserve  and  improve  what 
we  possess. 

At  one  period,  and  for  many  years,  probably  from  tlie  estab- 
lishment of  the  churcli  of  England,  according  to  the  letter  of  the 
laws,  whatever  might  have  been  the  intention,  Presbyterian  and 
dissenting  ministers,  if  there  were  any  in  the  colony,  were  sub- 
ject to  perform  military  duty.  The  assembly  which  met  at  New- 
bern,  June  8th,  174G,  passed  an  act  ybr  the  better  regulating  of 
the  militia,  which  makes  the  militia  to  consist  of  all  the  free- 
men and  servants  within  the  province,  except  ministers  of  the 
church  of  England,  members  .of  his  majesty's  council,  members 
of  the  assembly,  &c.,  but  ministers  of  other  denominations  are 
not  noticed.*  At  a  meeting  of  the  assembly  held  in  Wilmington 
January  30,  17G4,  this  act  was  so  amended  as  to  exempt  from 
military  duty,  Presbyterian  ministers  wJien  regularly  called  to 
any  congregation  in  the  province,!  which,  Martin  says,J  was 
the  first  instance  of  any  indulgence  granted  by  law  to  non-con- 
formists. This  is  not  strictly  correct ;  for  some  indulgence,  it  is 
believed,  had  been  previously  granted  to  Quakers,  but  to  no 
others.  According  to  the  above  act,  however,  if  Uterally  inter- 
preted, Presbyterian  ministers  could  not  claim  exemption,  un- 
less they  were  regularly  called  to  some  congregation  within  the 
province.  If  laboring  as  missionaries  in  destitute  parts,  they 
migiit  be  required  to  appear  under  arms  at  every  muster,  or  be 
subjected  to  a  fine  ;  and,  both  before  and  after  this  date,  many 
miiiisters,  in  or  past  the  middle  of  life,  and  of  high  standing  in 
their  profession,  were  sent  out  here  from  the  north,  to  serve  as 
missionaries,  some  for  six  months,  and  some  for  a  year,  who 
could  not  claim  the  provisions  of  the  act.  Some  amendment 
was  made  to  the  act  about  two  years  afterwards  ;  but  with  res- 
pect to  dissenters,  there  was  no  alteration.  It  was  so  amended 
by  the  assembly  which  met  at  Newbern,  December  5th,  1770,  in 
reference  to  Quakers,  that,  though  they  were  required  to  be  c)i- 

^*13^valn>,  p.  21^.     fHuvls'  Isl  RlitTsaTj  \i.  niT.     t"V(5l.  2,  '^.  V!^^. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    GALDWELI.,  D.D.  /  ■< 

rolled  as  others,  no  fine  could  ho  imposed  on  them  lor  iiui  uuis- 

(ering  or  bearing  arms,  except  in  cases  of  invasion  or  insurrection, 

L  .   when  they  must  serve  or  furnish  a  substitute,  under  a  penalty 

[  ^   of  ten  pounds  ;*  and  this  seems  to  have  been  the  last  alteration 

of  tlie  militia  laws  during  the  continuance  of  the  Britisli  govern- 

^'Vment. 

When  Presbyterian  ministers  began  to  organize  churches  and 
settle  in  North  Carolina  they  do  not  appear  to  have  considered 
themselves  bound  by  the  laws  on  the  subject  of  marriage;  but 
jtroceeded  to  marry  persons,  when  requested,  according  to  their 
own  rules  and  regulations.  '  From  the  establishment  of  the 
clRirch,  dissenting  ministers  had  not  been  allowed  to  celebrate 
marriages ;  but  in  April  1741  a  special  act  was  passed,  by  which 
it  was  enacted,  that  every  clergyman  of  the  church  of  England,  or, 
for  the  want  of  such,  any  lawful  magistrate  should  join  in  mar- 
riage all  persons  who  might  lawfully  enter  into  this  relation  and 
had  complied  with  the  directions  contained  in  the  act ;  that  no  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  shouidperform  this  ceremony  in  any  parish  wliere 
a  minister  resided  and  had  a  cure,  without  first  obtaining  permis- 
sion of  the  minister,underapenalty  of  five  pounds,  proclamation 
money,  to  the  use  of  the  minister ;  that  no  minister  or  justice 
should  marry  without  licensef  first  obtained  for  the  purpose,  or 
thrice  publication  of  the  banns,  as  prescribed  by  the  Rubric  in 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  under  a  penalty  of  £50 ;  that  no 
minister  should  go  out  of  this  government  to  marry  persons  be- 
longing to  ttie  government,  under  the  same  penalty ;  that  no 
minister  or  justice  might  refuse  to  marry  persons,  when  regular- 
ly called  on,  under  a  penalty  often  pounds,  if  by  license,  or  five 
pounds,  if  by  banns  ;  and  that  the  minister  of  any  parish  should 
always  have  the  benefit  of  the  fee  for  marriages  in  said  parish, 
if  he  did  not  refuse  or  neglect  to  do  the  services  thereof,  no  mat- 
ter who  performed  the  marriage  cercmony.t  Why  the  Presby- 
terian ministers  did  not  consider  themselves  bound  by  this  law 
does  not  appear  ;  but  they  had  married  so  many  that  the  legis- 
lature found  it  necessary  to  pass  an  act  declaring  these  marriages 
valid,  and  granting  them  permission  to  continue  the  practice  in 
future,  under  certain  restrictions.     The  Assembly  which  met  at 

■Davis'  2na  TJcvisa],  p.  455.  fDavis'  1st,  Rcvisal,  p-.  Tl. 

If) 


74  LIFK  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

Newberii  in, November,  1766,  passed  an  act  amendatory  to  the 
preceding,  which  has  the  following  preamble  and  enactments : 
»•'  Whereas  by  an  act  entitled  An  act  concerning  marriages,  it 
is  enacted  tliat  no  minister,  or  justice  of  the  peace,  shall  celebrate 
the  rites  of  matrhnony  between  any  persons,  or  join  them  togeth- 
tr  as  man  and  wife  ,without  license  or  certificate  of  publication, 
as  mentioned  in  the  said  act :  And  whereas  the  Presbyterian  or 
Dissenting  clergy,  conceivhig  themselves  not  included  in  the  re- 
strictions of  ministers  mentiond  in  that  act,  have  joined  many 
persons  together  in  holy  matrimony  without  either  licence  or 
]:>nbIication,  whereby  the  payment  of  the  just  and  legal  fees  to  the 
governor  on  such  occasions  has  been  eluded,  the  validity  of  mar- 
riages may  be  endangered  : 

•'^e  it  enacted  &c.  that  all  marriages  that  have  been  or  shall 
ho  solemnized,  before  the  first  day  of  January  next,  by  any  of 
the  dissenting  or  Presbyterian  clergy,  in  their  accustomed  man- 
ner, shall  be,  and  are  hereby  declared  to  be,  as  valid,  legal,  and 
ellectual,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if  performed  by  any  min- 
ister of  the  church  of  England,  under,  a  license  taken  and  grant- 
ed according  to  the  direction  of  the  aforesaid  act. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,- That  from  and  after  the  first  day 
of  January  next,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  Presbyteri- 
an minister,  regularly  called  to  any  congregation  in  this  prov- 
ince, to  celebrate  the  rites  of  matrimony  between  persons  and 
join  them  together  as  man  and  wife,  in  their  usual  and  accus- 
tomed manner,  under  the  same  regulations  and  restrictions  as 
any  lawful  magistrate  in  the  province  might  celebrate  and  sol- 
emnize the  same." — They  were  subject  to  the  same  penalty  of 
fifty  pomids  for  marrying  without  license  or  publication  of  banns, 
which  was  perhaps  nothing  more  than  fair ;  but  they  were  re- 
quired, impliedly  atieast,  like  magistrates,  to  ask  permission  of 
the  Episcopal  minister,  if  there  was  one  in  the  parish  ;  and  they 
must  give  the  fee  to  the  parish  minister.  This  act,  thus  restrict- 
ed as  it  was,  not  being  approved  by  the  king,  was  repealed  by 
proclamation  of  the  governor  about  two  years  after ;  and  then 
the  act  of  1741,  we  presume,  remained  in  force  until  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

The  laws  against  dissenters  in  North  Carolina,  were  severe: 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CA^^DWIiLL,  D.D.  lb 

but  tiloy  were  not  enforced  with  as  much  rigor  as  iii  some  of 
the  neighboring  colonies.  There  was  nothing  hke  a  court  of 
high  commission  in  miniature,  or  a  body  of  men  appointed  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  enforcing  the  ecclesiastical  laws ;  and  non- 
conformists were  never  imprisoned  or  brought  to  the  whipping 
post,  for  preaching  the  gospel.  While  in  South  Carolina,  at  one 
time,  a  board  of  commissioners,  clothed  with  almost  absolute 
power,  were  enforcing  the  laws  of  conformity  to  the  utmost,  re- 
gardless alike  of  chartered  rights  and  the  common  feelings  of 
humanity,  the  people  in  the  Old  North  State,  though  for  the  sake 
of  peace,  they  were  paying  tax  to  the  support  of  a  church  whose 
doctrines  and  rites  they  disapproved,  appear  to  have  been  elec- 
ting their  representatives  without  i^iuch  regard  to  religious 
creeds,  or  in  spite  of  the  odious  Test  act ;  and  while  in  Virginia, 
at  a  subsequent  period,  dissenting  ministers  were  imprisoned  for 
preaching  Jesus  Christ  to  dying  men^  and  for  proclaiming  salva- 
tion through  the  iron  grates  of  their  prison  window,  to  the  crowds 
assembled  on  the  outside,  as  they  usually  did  m  such  cases, 
regardless  of  consequences,  they  were  sometimes  taken  out  to 
the  whipping  post,  and  received  forty  stripes,  save  one  ;  here 
in  a  land  where  the  first  altars  were  erected  to  freedom,  and 
where  the  fire  had  never  ceased  to  burn,  or  the  incense  to  ascend, 
even  in  the  darkest  and  stormiest  night,  Presbyterian  ministers, 
and  probably  others  too,  were  celebrating  marriages  without 
asking  leave  of  the  parish  minister,  and  building  churches,  hold- 
ing meetings,  and  administering  ordinances,  without  consulting 
the  Bishop  of  London,  or  obtaining  license  from  any  human 
authority ;  the  people,  without  any  serious  apprehension  of  con- 
sequences, were  setting  at  nought  the  enactments  of  arbitrary 
power,  by  electing  for  vestrymen  such  men  as  they  knew  would 
not  serve,  or  by  staying  away  from  the  polls  and  electing  no 
vestrymen  at  all ;  and  in  some  counties,  as  in  the  one  in  which 
I  am.  now  writing,  they  were  compelling  the  assembly  to  re- 
scind their  vestry  acts. 

The  state  of  morals  and  the  amount  of  religious  knowledge 
and  influence  may  be  inferred  from  the  nature  and  policy  of  the 
government ;  the  character  of  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  ; 
and  the  extent  to  which  the  country  was  supplied  with  an  oji- 


/I)  lAVE.  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

ligh-tened  and  evangelical  ministry.  The  avowed  design  of  the 
proprietors,  and  the  wish  of  the  king,  whose  authority  was  over 
all,  was  to  have  the  government  of  Carolina  conformed  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  the  monarchy~of  England,  of  which  they  considered 
it  as  a  part;  and  such  officers  were  appointed,  and  such  instruc- 
tions were  given  them,  from  time  to  time,  as  were  thought  best 
calculated  to  secure  this  object.  During  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment,lhe  principal  officers  were  appointed  by,  and  retained  at  the 
will  of  the  proprietors.  The  province  was  held  as  a  property  ; 
and  the  inhabitants  were  regarded  only  as  serfs,  or  as  the  culti- 
vators of  a  soil  that  belonged  to  their  sordid  landlords.  The 
governors,  judges,  and  other  officers  appointed  by  them,  had 
little  or  no  sympathy  with  the  people  whom  they  governed ; 
and  their  main  object  was  to  enricfi  themselves,  though  in  doing 
it  the  tenants  of  thasoil  should  be  made  pennyiess  and  wretched; 
or  to  please  their  employers  and  retain  their  offices  as  badges  of 
honor,  or  as  the  means  of  support.  Perhaps  no  other  colony 
suffered  more  from  the  appointment  of  officers,  who  were  at 
ouce  destitute  of  moral  principle,  and  regardless  of  their  reputa- 
tion. With  perhaps  two  or  three  honorable  exceptions,  the 
whole  of  the  proprietary  officers,  especially  those  of  the  higher 
grades,, were  very  far  from  being  a  credit  to  their  stations  :  and 
often  the  governors  and  judges  were  the  greatest  rowdies  in  the 
country.  At  one  period  they  were  as  often  engaged  in  affrays 
and  broils,  in  assaults  and  batteries  on  each  other,  and  dealt  as 
much  in  foul  mouthed  recriminations,  as  any  other  class  of  people; 
and  the  court  dockets  of  that  day  are  disgraced  by  their  mutual 
indictments,  and  by  presentments  of  the  grand  jury  for  such 
shameful  violations  of  the  laws.*  About  the  time  the  charter 
was  resigned  to  the  king,  was  perhaps  the  worst  period ;  and 
the  most  disgraceful  scenes  occurred  soon  after 'the  change  took 
place.  Sir  Richard  Everard  and  George  Burrmgton,  as  govern- 
ors, William  Smith  as  chief  justice,  and  EdmuJid  Porter  as  judge 
of  admiralty,  were  conspicuous  for  tlieir  aberrations,  both  as 
men  and  as  public  servants ;  and  will  have  an  unenviable  noto- 
riety, wherever  oiu:  colonial  history  may  be  known. 

Tliosc  who  formed  the  first   settlements  withiji  the  present  li- 
Williamson,  vol!  3,  p.  43,  47,  241. 


LIl'E  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  77 

mits  of  North  Carolina,  were,  as  we  have  scon,  Quakers  and 
other  dissenters,  who,  having  fled  from  persecution,  mostly  from 
Virginia,  had  taken  up  their  residence  among  savages  for  the 
sake  of  enjoying  peace  of  conscience  ;  and  may  therefore  bo 
supposed  to  have  been  a  serious  and  moral  people.  The  acces- 
sions made  after  the  charter  was  obtained  were  mere  adventur- 
ers from  England,  the  older  colonies,  and  the  West  India  is- 
lands ;  and  were  probably  very  diiferent  in  their  character. — 
Being  excluded  by  their  "  iron  bound  coast"  from  the  same 
freedom  of  intercourse  with  the  world  that  was  enjoyed  by  the 
otiu'r  colonies,  their  progress  in  improvement  was  necessarily 
slow  ;  and  it  was  the  policy  of  the  government  to  discourage 
every  thing  that  might  diffuse  intelligence  or  increase  the  popu- 
lar influence.  In  some  of  the  colonies  printing  presses  were 
strictly  forbidden  by  the  king  ;*  and  would,  no  doubt,  have  been 
prohibited  in  Carolina  had  there  been  any  occasion  for  it.  Ed- 
ucation seems  to  have  been,  for  a  long  time,  entirely  neglected  ; 
no  notice  was  taken  of  it,  and  no  provision  was  made  for  it  by 
government.  There  were  men  of  talents  and  education  in  the 
country,  and  they  sent  their  sons  abroad  to  be  educated ;  but 
unaccountably  neglected  to  do  any  thing  for  the  cause  of  learn- 
ing at  home.  Gabriel  Johnston,  who  was  appointed  governor 
in  1734,  was  the  first  who  urged  on  the  assembly  the  impor- 
tance of  making  some  provision  for  schools.  He  was  a  native 
of  Scotland  and  a  literary  man.  Having  been  educated  in  the 
University  of  St.  Andrews  and  afterwards  professor  of  oriental 
languages  in  that  institution,  he  knew  the  value  of  learning  and 
wished  to  see  it  promoted ;  but  when  appropriations  were  made 
for  it  they  were  either  wasted  or  taken  to  meet  some  other  de- 
mands on  the  treasury.  Tlie  first  academy  or  school  of  any 
kind  established  by  legislative  authority  was  the  Newbern  aca- 
demy in  1767;  and  Martin  says  in  his  history  that  there  were 
but  two,  those  of  Newbcrii^nd  Edonton,  at  the  Declaration  of 
Independeiice.  The  assembly  which,met  at  Newbern,  Dec.  5th, 
1770,  passed  an  act  entitled  Jin  act  for  founding,  establishing, 
and  endowing  of  Queen'' s  College  in  the  town  of  Charlottein 
JSiecklenburg  county;  but  being  disapproved  by  the  king  it 
*Martin,  vol.  1,  p.  177.  182. 


78  LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  1>,D. 

was  repealed  by  proclamation/*  It  is  not  noticed  by  Martin  in 
his  Collection  of  Private  Acts,  and  only  the  title  is  given  in  Da- 
vis' Revisal.  The  precise  date  of  the  repeal  is  not  stated  ;  but 
in  the  next  year  an  act  was  passed  to  amend  it,  and  of  course 
it  was  not  then  repealed.  This  liowever  must  have  been  done 
before  1773;  for  that  was  the  year  in  which  the  Revisal  was 
published.  While  the  effort  to  get  such  an  institution  establish- 
ed there  at  that  early  day  was  highly  creditable  to  the  public 
spirit  and  enterprize  of  the  people  in  that  region,  the  refusal  of 
the  king  to  sanction  what  the.  assembly  had  done  was  additional 
evidence  that  no  favor  was  to  be  expected  from  the  Hritish  go- 
vernment, and  thus  the  honor  of  giving  education  the  aid  and 
encouragement  which  it  deserves  was  left  for  those  who  by  suf- 
fering together  in  the  same  cause  had  acquired  mutual  confi- 
dence and  esteem,  and  by  securing  their  independence  had  gain- 
ed at  once  the  self-respect  and  the  pecuniary  resources  that  were 
necessary  for  the  purpose. 

In  1749,  James  Davis  brought  the  first  printing  press  into  the 
province  and  set  up  at  Newbern;  and  in  1764  he  commenced 
the  first  newspaper,  called  the  North  Carolina.  Magazine,  or  U- 
iiiversal  Intelligencer.  Williamson,  in  accounting  for  the  neg- 
lect of  education  says,  «  The  laws  that  were  made  to  support  a 
religious  establishment  retained  their  force  ;  for  they  were  sup- 
ported by  the  spirit  of  party.  Learning  was  neglected  because 
it  was  of  no  party  ;  no  troops  enlisted  themselves  under  its  ban- 
ner. Pride  or  passion  were  not  ready  to  lend  their  assistance  ; 
and  reason,  a  cool  auxiliary,  for  many  years  gave  ineflectual 
support."  This  is  inconsistent,  or  at  least  unsatisfactory  ;  for 
reason  gives  not  an  auxiliary,  but  the  main  support  to  the 
cause  of  learning.  The  truth  is,  it  was  the  policy  of  the  gov- 
crninent  to  keep  the  people  in  ignorance ;  and  they  had  not  the 
power,  whatever  might  have  been  their  wishe§,  to  pass  any  law 
on  this  subject  without  the  consent  of  the  governor  and  coun- 
cil, nor  to  carry  any  law  of  the  kind  into  effect  without  fidehty 
on  the  part  of  those  who  were  entrusted  with  the  management 
or  custody  of  whatever  appropriations  were  made  by  legislative 
authority.     This  appears  to  have  been  the  reason  why  learning 

*Davis'-  2(1  Revisal,  p.  455,  501. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  /:' 

received  no  legislative  patronage  in  Carolina  for  more  llian  a 
hundred  years;  and  Governor  Berkley,  who  breathed  the  spirit 
and  echoed  the  sentiments  of  his  employers,  has,  hi  the  follow- 
ing specimen  of  his  patriotic  views  and  christian  temper,  explain- 
ed to  us  the  character  and  designs  of  the  men  who  were  then 
controlling  the  destinies  of  this  country.  In  a  communication 
to  the  proprietors,  dated  in  Jtme,  1671,  near  thirty  years  after  he 
was  first  appointed  governor,  he  says,  in  relation  to  the  colony 
under  his  own  jurisdiction,  "  We  have  forty  eight  parishes  and 
our  ministers  are  well  paid,  and  by  my  consent  should  be  better, 
if  they  would  pray  of tener  and  preach  less  ;  but  as  of  all  other 
commodities,  so  of  this,  the  worst  are  sent  us  ;  and  we  have  few 
that  we  can  boast  of,  since  the  persecution  in  Cromwell's  ty- 
ranny drove  divers  worthy  men  hither.  Yet  I  thank  God  there 
are  no  free  schools  nor  printing  presses,  and  I  hope  we  shall 
not  have  any  these  hundred  years.  For  learning  has  brought 
disobedience,  and  heresy,  and  sects  into  the  world,  and  printing 
has  divulged  them,  and  libels  against  the  best  government :  God 
keep  us  from  both." 

The  British  government  took  efficient  measures  for  throwing 
upon  the  American  colonies  a  most  undesirable  kind  of  popula- 
tion ;  for  enactments  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  by  which 
felons  and  almost  all  classes  of  offenders  might  be,  at  their  own 
request,  transported  to  America.*  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
these  dregs  of  English  society,  then  at  all  times  so  abundant 
there,  found  their  way,  not  to  Carolina,  at  least  not  to  any  great 
amount,  but,  as  they  have  been  doing  ever  since,  to  more  pros- 
perous and  accessible  parts  of  the  country  ;  yet  the  treatment  of 
this  province  by  the  higher  powers  was  calculated  to  depress 
the  people,  to  paralize  their  energies,  and  to  make  them  idle  and 
vicious.  The  restrictions  on  their  commerce  were  unjust  and 
grievous  to  be  borne.  But  few  articles  of  export  were  free  from 
a  heavy  duty  or  drawback  of  some  kind ;  and  the  mechanical 
arts  were  in  a  great  measure  ,  interdicted.  The  manufacture  of 
hats,  ropes,  iron,  and  of  all  the  most  profitable  articles,  was,  for 
years,  either  forbidden,  or  so  trammelled  that  people  could  not 
engage  in  it  to  advantage.!     Such  treatment,  instead  of  being 

*Martin,  vol.  1,  p.  144,  152,  169.     tMartm,  vol.  2,  p.  13,  14,  56. 


.so  LIKE    OF  DAVID  CAldWELL,  D.D. 

favorable  to  morality  and  good  feeling,  had  just  the  opposite  ef- 
fect ;  dissatisfaction  with  the  government  increased ;  and  con- 
tention was  kept  up  between  the  people  and  their  rulers. 

But  perhaps  the  greatest  evil  which  North  Carolina  experi- 
enced during  the  early  period  of  her  liistory,  and  to  which  many 
of  the  others  may  be  attributed,  was  the  want  of  an  enlightened 
and  evangelical  ministry.     The  Saviour  told  his  disciples  that 
they  were  the  light  of  the  world  and  the  salt  of  the  earth:  they 
and  their  successors  were  to  be  the  living  instrumentality  by 
which  the  knowledge  of  God  should  be  maintained  in  the  world, 
and  mankind  be  preserved  from  becoming  wholly  corrupt.     To 
prove  the  necessity  and  value  of  such  a  ministry,  no  arguments 
are  necessary  at  the  present  day,  and  before  a  christian  commu- 
nity ;  but  for  a  long  time  Carolina  had  no  christian  ministry  at 
all.     From  the  first  settlement  until  the  year  1700,  except  the 
short  visit  of  Edmundson  and  Fox,  the  two  Quaker  preachers  al- 
ready mentioned,  in  1672,  our  shores  were  visited  by  no  mes- 
senger of  peace;  and  until  1703,  just  40  years  after  the  charter 
was  granted,  there  was  no  one  to  go  in  and  out  before  the  peo- 
ple, and  break  to  them  the  bread  of  life  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath. 
In  1705,  the  Bishop  of  London  sent  over  Gideon  Johnson  as  his 
commissary  for  the  province  of  Carolina,  who  was  directed  to 
make  his  residence  at  Charleston ;  and  other  ministers  were  oc- 
casionally sent  over,  mostly  by  the  society  formed  under  the 
reign  of  king  William,  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  for- 
eign parts.     In  1725,  the  Bishop  of  London,  as  patriarch  of 
England,  extended  his  jurisdiction  to  the  American  colonies  ;"* 
and  then  ecclesiastical  affairs  here  were  regulated,  as  far  as 
practicable,  according  to  his  directions.     There  were  churches 
or  chapels  in  nearly  every  county  ;  and  in  some  counties  there 
were  two  or  more.     In  Orange  county  there  were  several;  and 
the  University  of  the  State  took  the  name  of  Chapel  Hill,  from 
the  fact  that  there  was  a  chapel  on  one  of  the  eminences  in- its 
immediate  vicinity.     The  established  churcli  had  sufficient  au- 
thority and  ample  resources;  but  the  number  of  ministers  actu- 
ally resident  here,  and  their  character  and  usefulness,  are  not 
well  known.     Although  provision  was  made  for  the  support  of 
*iMartin,  vol.  1,  p.  297. 


LIl'i:  OK  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  1).».  "^1 

a  minister  iu  every  parisli,  there  M'^cre  probably  not  more  than 
half  a  dozen  in  the  })roAfmce  at  any  one  time  ;  and  while  some 
of  these  appear  to  have  been  serious,  well  meaning  men,  and  to 
liave  exerted  on  the  whole  a  salutary  influence,  of  many  it  may 
be  said,  as  Gov.  Berkley  said  of  those  iii  Virginia,  as  of  all  other 
commodities^  so  of  tMs^  the  worst  ivere  sent  us.  When  old 
Governor  Dobbs  met  the  assembly,  at  Wilmington,  February 
3d,  1764,  for  the  last  time,  he- deplored  the  want  of  clergyman  ; 
told  litem  that  24  out  of  30  parishes  were  vacant;  and  urged 
them  to  adopt  suitable  measures  for  hicreasing  the  supply.* — 
IViartin  sayst  there  were  not  more  than  six  ministers  belonging, 
to  the  estabUshed  church  living  in  tlie  province  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Revolution ;  aiid  he  is  probably  not  far  wrong. 
Religion  is  represented  as  being  at  a  low  ebb,  and  the  state  of 
morals  as  quite  deplorable ,-  but  there  was  certainly  more  reli- 
gious knowledge  and  influence  then,  owing  to  the  increase  of 
dissenters,  than  at  any  preceding  period. 

The  running  of  the  boundary  line  between  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia,  in  17^8,  sixty-five  years  after  the  charter  was  giv- 
en, furnished  historians  with  some  curious  facts  respecting  the 
condition  of  the  colony,  and  the  character  of  the  people,  at  that 
time.  The  commissioner^  from  this  side  shewed  when  they  en- 
tered on  the  business,  that  they  were'  as  competent  to  the  task 
as  those  from  Virginia  ;  but  it  had  been  delayed  for  some  time 
by  the  former,  because  there  was  no  money  in  the  treasury  ; 
nor  could  they  purchase  the  necessary  stores  until  the  council 
had  sold  blank  patents  to  \\\d^iv'\d.xm\s  who  advanced  the  mon- 
ey.! The  Virginia  commissioners  were  well  provided  with 
comforts  and  "  good  cheer  ;"  and  seemed  to  make  light  of  the 
poverty  and  of'  what  they  deemed  the  irreligion  of  Carolina. 
In  writing  to  the  commissioners§  on  this  side,  Dec.  16th,  1727, 
they  say,]|  "  We.  think  it  very  proper  to  acquaint  you  in  what 
manner  we  intend  to  come  provided,  that  so  you  being  apponi- 
ted  in  the  same  station- may,  if  you  please,  do  the  same  honor 

*Martin,  vol.  2,  p.  180. ,  tVol.  2,  p.  39o. 

ifWilliamson,  vol.  2.  p.  1^.     ^^Villiamson,  vol.  2,  p.  2.3.5. 

II  riie  eoiniiii.ssionors  on  the  pirt  ot  Virg-mia,   were  Col.    B'rd,  Richard 
Fitzwilliain,  and  William  Dandridge:  Those  on  the  part  of  Carolina,  were 
John  Lovick,  Cliristopher  Gale,  Edward  Moseley,  and  William  Jiittie. 
1.1 


>>'^  LIFK  UF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

to  your  country.  We  will  bring  with  us  about  twenty  men  fur- 
nished v/ith  provisions  for  thirty  days ;  we  will  have  with  us  a 
tent  and  marquees  for  the  accommodation  of  ourselves  and  our 
servants.  We  bring 'as,  much  wine  and  rum  as  will  enable  ps 
and  oxir  men  to  drink  every  night  to  the  success  of  the  following 
day ;  and  because  we  understand 'there  are  gentiles  on  the  fron- 
tiers, whenever  had  ai^  opportunity  of  being  baptized,  we  shall 
have  a  chaplain  with  us  to  make  them  christians.  For  this  pur- 
pose we  intend  to  rest  in  our  camp  every  Sunday  that  there  may 
be  leisure  for  so  good  a  work.  And  whoever  in  that  neighbor- 
hood is  desirous  of  novelty  may  come  and  hear  a  good  sermon. 
Of  this  you  will  please  to  give  notice  that  the  charitable  inten- 
tions of  this  government  may  meet  with  the  happier  success." 
To  this  the  others  replied  as  follows  :  "  We  are  at  a  loss,  gen- 
tlemen, whether  to  thank  you  for  the  particulars  yau  give  us  of 
your.tent  stores  and  the  manner  you  design  to  meet  us.  Had 
you  been  silent  about  it  we  had  not  wanted  an  excuse  for  not 
meethig'yoii  in  the  same  nlanr^er ;  but  now  you  force  us  to  ex- 
pose the  nakedness  of  our  country,  and  to  tell  you  we  cannot 
possibly  meet  you  in  the  manner  our  great  respect  to  you  would 
make  us  glad  to  do,  whom  we  are  not  emulous  of  out-doing  un- 
less in  care  and  diligence  in  the  affair  we  come  to  meet  you  a- 
bout.  So  all  we  answer  to'that  article  is,  that  we  will  endeavor 
to  provide  as  well  as  the  circumstaiices  of  things  will  admit  us  ; 
and  what  we  may  want  in  necessaries  will,  we  hope,  be  made 
up  in  the  spiritual  comfort  we  expect  from  your  chaplain,  of 
whom  we  shall  give,  notice  as  you  desire,  to  all  lovers  of  novel- 
ty ;  and  doubt  not  of  a  great  many  border  christians." 

The  commissioners  from  Virginia  said  in  their  diary  that 
"  their  associates  from  Carolina  did  not  bring  above  two  men 
with  them  who  would  put  their  hands  to  any  thing  but  the  ket- 
tle or  frying  pan  ;  and  that  they  spent  so  much  of  their  industry 
ill  this  way  that  they  had  but  little  spirit  or  inclination  for  any 
other  work.  The  women  and  children  of  the  borderers  came  to 
stare  at.the  commissioners  with  as  much  curiosity  as  if  they  had 
lately  landed  from  Canton  or  Morocco-.  The  men  appeared  all 
to  dread  that  the  hue  should  pass  to  the  south  of  their  land,  as  in 
iliiit  case  they  must  submit   to  some  kind  of  order  and  govern- 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  «3 

Dient,  while  in  Carolina,  every  one  did  what  was  best  in  liis 
own  eyes  ;  and  none  paid  any  tribute  to  God  or  to  Ca:!sar." — 
The  state  of  society  was  no  doubt  bad  in  many  res'pects  ;  but 
the  commissioners  might  have  fpiiud  as  many  women  and  chil- 
dren who  would  have  stared  at  them  in  Virginia  as  in  CaroUna ; 
and  it  is  not  wonderful. that  people  who  had  once  enjoyed  "the 
freedom  of  the  woods  and  of,  the  waters,  with  the  privilege  of 
^worshipping  God  as  they  pleased,  should  dread  the  spirit  and 
measures  of  the  Virginia  goverinnent  at  that  time. 

Many  wpmen  brought  their  children  to  the  Virginia  chaplain 
to  have  them  baptized;  but  it  is  added  that  "they  brought  no 
erz/v'o;?.  along  with  them  to  make  the  solemnity  cheerful."  Al- 
though the  Reverend  gentleman  christened  more  than  a  hun- 
dred children,  during  the  running  of  the  line,  he  did  not  marry 
one  couple.  "  None  were  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  having 
their  hands  joined  by  a  man  in  holy  orders  ;  they  considered 
marriage  as  a  civil  contract  only,  and  its  knot  as  firmly  tied  by 
a  Justice  as  by  an  archbishop-" 

Within  a  few  years  after  the  date  just  referred  to,  the  charac- 
ter of  society  began  to  undergo  a  great  and  rapid  change,  not  by 
displacing  those  who  had  hitherto  been  occupants  of  the  soil, 
but  by  accessions  from  abroad.  These  were  from  diffierent 
countries,  and  held  opinions  and  practised  forms  of  worship 
which  were  in  some  respects  different;  but  they  were  all,  or 
with  very  few  exceptions,  opposed  to  the  established  church,  on 
principle,  and  not  from  a  reluctance  to  pay  what  might  be  neces- 
sary to  maintain  its  institutions  and  promote  its  welfare ;  for 
they  knew  the  value  of  religion  and  had  been  taught  to  give  its 
ministers  a  decent  support.  The  increase  of  population  is  shewn 
by  the  number  and  size  of  the  counties  formed  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, as  given  in  WilUamsoii's  history,  or  the  Revised  Statutes; 
but  for  the  character  of  the  people  who  thus  swelled  the  amount 
of  population  and  changed  the  face  of  society,  we  must  look  to 
other  sources. 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  first  monthly  meeting  of  the  Quakers 
w^as  held  in  1672  ;  and,  as  the  writer  has  been  recently  informed 
by  one  of  their  most  intelligent  members,  their  first  yearly  meet- 
iij2r  was  held  in  the  county  of  Perquimons  in  1704.     Whether 


Si  LIFE   Oi'   DAVIU  CALDWELL,  I).I). 

any  considerable  accessions  were  made  to  the  society  from  abroad 
about  this  time,  or  what  .may  be  their  entire  number  at  any 
time,  cannot  be  well  .ascertained,  since  they  never  "  number  the 
people,"  or  make  the  number  of .  their'members  a  matter  of.re^ 
cord  ;  but  about  the  midtUe  of  the  last  century  sevefal  hundred 
of  thein  came  into  Guilford  and- the  adjoining  counties  from 
Pennsylvania  ;  and  in  a  faw  , years  after  a  number  came  from 
New  England,  chiefly  from  the  Island  of  Nantucket.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  revolution  they  had  rehgious  establish- 
ments, or  mecthigs,  monthiy.and  quarterly,  in  Perquimons,  Pas- 
quotank, Orange,  Guilford,.  Johnson,  and  Carteret;  and  in  all 
they  must  have  amounted  to  several  thousands.       ,    , 

A  company  of  French  Huguenots,-  a  cltJss  of  people  who, 
wherever  tlreyAvent,  seem  to  have  formed  a  most.vahiable  por- 
tion of  society,  Ibeing  encouraged  by  vKing"WilHam,  came  over 
to  America  in  iC90,  and  settled  above  the  falls  of  James  river 
ill  Tirginia ;  but  not  being  pleased  with  their  location  there, -and 
the  lands  in  Carolina  being  mostly  u^i'appropriated,  they  remov- 
ed south  in  1707,  and  settled  jon  the  river  Trent,  with  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Rybourg  for  their  pastor.*  About  this  time,-a  col- 
ony of  German  protestants,  from  Hiedleberg  and  its  vicinity,  on 
the  Rhine^  came  over  to  Cai;Olina,  under  the  conduct  of  Christo- 
pher dc  Grafienricd  and  I^ewis  JNIitchell.t  The  colony  consisted 
of  about  one  hundred  famines,  or  six  hundred  and  fifty  pereons  ; 
and  landed  in  1709,  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Neuse  and 
Trent,  where  they  erected ,  temporary  shelters  until  they  coitld 
be  put  in  possession  of  tiie  lands  which  had  bee^i  promised  them. 
The-place  of  iheir  encampment  was  called  New  Bern,  from  the 
town  of  Berne  hi  Switzerland,  where  de  Grafl'enried  was  born. 
De  Graffenried  and  Mitchell  had  agreed  with  the  proprietors  in 
London  for  ten  thousand  acres  of  land,  which  was  to  be  laid  oft' 
for  them  in  one  body  between  the  Nuese  and  Cape  FeaT,  with 
a  promise  of  a  hundred  Uionsand  more  to  be  reser,ved  for  them 
a  certai)i  nunfljer  of  years  ;  and  tl^c  fortoer  having  paid  for  five 
thousand  acres,  received,  according'to  promise-,  the  title  of  baron. 
These  Germans,  or  palatines,  as  they  were  called,  were  very 
poor,  having  been  driven  from  their  native  country  by  a  long 

^nVilliamson,  vol.  l,p.  179.     frtid.  170. 


LIFK  OK  DAVIU    GALDWKLL,  D.D.  85 

series  of  persecutions  and  vexations ;  and  their  leaders  were 
bound  to  give  them,  on' certaiii  conditions,  two  hundred  an4  fifty 
acres  of  land  for  each  family.  .Althoug.h  they  suffered  gi-eatly 
from  the  Indians,  and  \yere  unfairly  dealt  with  by  the  men  in 
whom  they  confide'd,  being  industrious  a,nd  moral  in  their  hab- 
its, they  seem  to  have  been  prosperous ;  but  flieir  history  is  ve- 
ry little  known,  any  farther  than  it  js  given  by  Williamson,  which 
is  for  the  space  of  only  a  few  years 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  or  a  little  earher,  largo 
numbers  of  protestants  from  diflerent  countries  and  speaking 
■  lerent  languages,  sought  refuge  from  oppression  in  North  Ca- 
:  lina  ;  and  in  a  short, time  overspread  a  large  part  of  the  prov- 
ince. These  were  mostly  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  ;~  the 
north  of  Ireland  ;.  the  Marquisate  of  Morovia  ;  and  other. Ger- 
man countries.  They  were  not  only  protestants,  but  were  near- 
ly all  dissenters  from  the  ciiurch  of  England.  The  influx  began 
in  the  time  qi' Governor  Johnston;  and  about  the  year  1740.  A 
small  company  or  two  came  a  few  years  earlier ;  but  they  did 
not  begin  to  come  in  large  numlpers  before  1746  ;  and  the  tide 
of  emigration  continued  for  twenty- five  or  thirty  years.  In  the 
year  1736,  Duplin  county  began  to  be  settled  by  people  from  the 
north  of  Ireland  and  Swhzerland,  who  were  induced  by  Henry 
IMcCuUoch  to  come  and  settle  on  his  land.  He  had,  by  some 
means  or  others,  obtained  a  large  quantity,  about  seventy  thou- 
sand acres ;  and  wished  to  have  it  occupied.  He  had  been  ap- 
pointed his  majesty's  surveyof-,"inspector,  and  controller  of  the 
revenue  and  grants  of  land ;  and  speculated  largely  in  crown 
lands  with  a  view  of  paying  for  them  by  importing  settlers. — 
Ilisjson,  Henry  Eustace  McCulloch  reported  between  three  and 
four  hundred  persons,  who  had  been  thus  brought  into  the  pro- 
vince ;  and  retained  about  the  quantity  of  land  above  mentioned, 
for  which  he  managed  to  settle  his  accounts  with  the  crown 
without  paying  a  dollar.*  This  was  the  first  importation  of  / 
people  from  Ireland  to  this  State,  of  which  I  have  seen  any  no-  / 
tice  ;  and  several  years  elapsed  before  there  was  another.  From-^ 
the  printed  records  of  the  synod  of  Philadelphia,  (p.  173,)  it  ap- 
pears that  in  1744,  a  representation  from  many  people  of  North 
Williamson,  vol.  2,  p.  02. 


/I 


SG  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CAldWELL,  D.D. 

Carolina  was  laid  before  that  body,  showing  their  destitute  con- 
dition ;  requesting  the  synod  to  take  their  estate,  into  considera- 
tion ;  and  desiring  that  some  one  .might  be  appointed  to  corres- 
pond with  them.  In  what  part  of  the  State  these  people  Uved 
does  not  appear ;  but  from  a  collection  of  manuscript  communi- 
cations received  by  the  editor  of  the  Raleigh  Stkr  in  1810,  from 
intelligent  men  over  the  State,  arid  now  preserved  in  the  Uni- 
versity library,  it  appears  that  the  greater  part  of  those  who,  in 
1736,  settled  on  the  lands, of  McCulipch  in  Duplin  county,  were 
Presbyterians  from  Ireland.  That  was  the  first  Presbyterian 
settlement  formed  in  North  Carolina  of  which  I  have  seen  any 
account ;  and  like  all  other  christian  people  they  would  desire 
to  have  preaching. 

The  middle  and  western  parts  of  this  State  were  settled  al- 
most entirely  by  Presbyterians  from  the  norj;h  of  Ireland  ;  but 
they  or  their  ancestors,  having'  fornierly  removed  to  that  coun- 
try from  Scotland,  they  are  usually  called  Scotch-Irish.  In  the 
reign  of  James  I.  the  earls  of  Tyrone  and  Tyreonnel,  having 
conspired  against  the  government,  were  obliged  to  fly  from  the 
kingdom  to  escape  punishment.  Some  of  their  accomplices 
were  arrested  and  executed ;  but  as  the  two  earls  were  attain- 
ted 43y  a  process  of  outlawry,  their  vast  estates,  containing  a- 
hovd  500,000  acres  of  land,  escheated  to  the  crown.  King  James 
resolved  to  improve" a  country  which,  having  been  desolated  by 
war,  was  covered  by  woods,  infested  by  robbers,  or  inhabited 
by  ignorant  Catholics.  The  escheated  lands  were  divided  into 
small  tracts  to  suit  adventurers  who  might  be  Avilling  to  settle 
them,  or  would  engage  to  place  on  tlie  land  a  certain  number  of 
sub-tenants  within  a  given  time ;  and,  by  his  direction,  a  pre- 
ference was  given  to  people  from  the  west  of  Scotland.  They 
were  protestants  from  his  own  country  ;  an  industrious  people  ; 
and  the  passage  being  short,  they  could  easily  comply  with  their 
contracts  in  settling  the  lands.  Many  of  them  went  over  then, 
bat  the  establishment  of  prelacy  in  Scotland  in  1637,  and  again 
.G()l,  to  which,  as  Presbyterians,  they  could  not  conscientiously 
submit,  compelled  many  more  to  emigrate.  Their  superior 
knowledge,  industry,  and  temperance,  soon  enabled  them  to 
siip)>1:int  th*^  natives:  nnd  by  the  end  of  that  century,  six  of  the 


LIFE  OK  DAVID  CALDWEJ.L,  DAK  ^/  • 

northern  counties  were  inhabited  by  tlieir  descendeiils,  or  tlip 
remains  of  Cromwell's  army.  Through  all  the  subsequent  rev- 
olutions and  troubles  of  England  they  were  the  steady  suppor- 
ters of  government  against  every  attempt  to  establish  a  Catho- 
lic prince ;  and  they  adhered  with  equal  firmness  to  the  Hano- 
ver Succession.  Their  loyalty  and  their  faithful  services  enti- 
tled them  to  the  favor  and  the  confidence  of  government ;  but 
being  treated  like  aliens,  marked  with  distrust  as  citizens,  and 
denied  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  rights  as  christians,  they  de- 
termined to  seek  in  a  foreign  Ijind  the  liberty  which  was  denied 
them  at  home.  They  migrated  by  thousands  to  Pennsylvania 
where  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  were  in  full 
operation  ;  but,  partly  from  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  land,  and 
partly  from  other  reasons,  they  found  it  expedient  to  remove 
further  south.  In  Virginia,  land  could  be  obtained  in  abun- 
dance and  upon  easy  terms ;  but  the  government  there  being  in 
constant  hostility  with  religious  freedom,  the  greater  part  of 
them  came  on  to  N.  Carolina,  and  settled  on  lands  belonging  to 
the  earl  of  Granville.*  They  have  ever  been  the  staunch 
friends  of  liberty,  and  of  every  thing  else  that  can  elevate  the 
character  or  promote  the  welfare  of  society.  Combining  the 
intelligence,  orthodoxy,  and  piety  of  the  Scotch,  with  the  ardor, 
and  love  of  liberty  peculiar  to  the  Irish,  they  were  the  most  effi- 
cient supporters  of  the  American  cause  durmg  the  struggle  for 
independance ;  and  they  have  done  more  for  the  support  of 
learning,  morality  and  religion  than  any  other  class  of  people. 

The  Presbyterian  population  in  the  south-east  part  of  the 
State,  came  mostly  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland;  and  the  first 
emigration  of  which  we  have  any  account,  resulted  from  the  un- 
fortunate attempt  of  prince  Charles  Edward,  grandson  of  James 
II,  to  regain  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Being  a  descendant  of 
the  Stewarts,  when  he  landed  in  Scotland,  the  Highlanders 
flocked,  in  large  numbers,  to  his  standard ;  but  when  he  was 
overtlu-ovvn  at  the  battle  of  Culloden,  on  the  16th  of  April  1746', 
they  were  obliged  to  fly.  The  chieftains  and  prominent  men 
were  mostly  put  to  death,  and  muhitudes  of  the  people  were 
hunted  down  and  slaughtered  like  wild  beasts  ;  but  at  length  a 

^Winiajns-orK  vol,  2.  p.  0^-71', 


85  LIFi:  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  V.U 

pardon  passed  the  great  seal,  exempting  from  trial  and  punish- 
ment nineteen  out  of  twenty  among  the  rest,  on  "condition  of  their 
heiiig  transported  to  America;  and  for  deteraninijig  the  mel- 
ancholiy  fate  of  every  twentieth  man  they  resorted  to  the  lot. 
Those  whp  survived  and  were  expatriated,  were  accompanied  by 
]nany  others,  who,  althougli  they  had  not  takeii  up  arms,  favor-' 
cd  the  prince's  cause,  and  voluntarily  shared  the  exile  of  their 
countrymen.  A  considerable  number  of  them  came  to"  North 
CaroUna  about  the  end  of  the  year.  1746  ;  located  themselves  on 
the  Cape  Fear  river ;  and  formed  the  settlement  in  the  midst  of 
which  the  town  of  Fayetteville  now  stands.*  Williamson  makes 
no  mention  of  this  circumstance  ;  'but  says,t  that  in  174"9,  Neal 
McNeal  arrived  at  Wilmington- with  his  family-,  .and  five  or  six 
hundred  colonists  who  settled,  some  in  Anson,  others  in  Bladen, 
but  most  of  them  in  Cumberland.  Tiiere  was  a  second  impor- 
tation in  1754  ;  and  from  that  time  there  was  one  annually :  nor 
have  the  importations  yet  ceased;  for,  it  is  said  that  a.gopdly 
uuniber  came  over  during  the  last  year,  and  settled  in  the  same 
region. 

The  Moravians,  being  driven  from  their  native  country,  the 
I\Iarquisate  of  Moravia,  by  persecution,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  17th  century,  sought  refuge  in  England  and  tlie  British  col- 
onies. In  the  spring  of  1735,  a  colony  of  them  arrived  in  Geor- 
gia ;  and  formed  a  settlement  on  the  Savannah  river,  at  or  near 
the  town  of  the  same  name.  In  the  true  missionary  spirit,  they, 
made  it  a  paramount  object  to  enligliten  and  christianize  the 
savages ;  and  tlieir  eiforts  were  likely  to  be  very  successful ; 
but  tlieir  establishment  was  broken  up  by  the  war  between' the 
British  and  the  Spaniards  in  1737,  and  agahi  in  1739.  Being 
compelled  to  bear  arms  in  these  scenes*  of  conflict,  contrary,  not 
only  to  their  principles,  but  to  the  promises  which  had  been 
given  them;  and  their  cliristian  labors  beuig  entirely  interrupted, 
by  these  and  other  causes,  they  removed,  part  of  them  in  173S, 
and  the  rest  in  1740,  to  Pennsylvania,  where  they  formed  the 
settlements  of  liethlehem  and  Nazareth.  The  oppressions  and 
hardships  which  they  and  their  missionaries  among  the  heathen 
endured  from  ill  disposed  persons,  and  in  other  ways,  led  them 
*.Marliii,  vol.  2,  p.  4*?.    jVol.  2',  p.  TO. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  S3 

to  seek  from  the  British  government  more  toleration,  and  greater 
security  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights.  After  a  strict  exami- 
nation into  the  origin  and  existing  state  of  this  churcli,  they  were 
declared  hy  an  act  of  Parhament,  which  received  tlie  royal  sanc- 
tion, May  12th,  1749^  to  be  an  ancient  Episcopal  chnrch ;  and 
had  fnll  liberty  of  conscience  allowed  them  wherever  settled  in 
any  of  the  American  colonies.  They  were  exempted  from  per- 
sonal military  services  for  a  reasonable  compensation;  and  were 
permitted  to  affirm  in-stead  of  taking  an  oath.  Abont  the  same  A_ 
time  they  entered  into  negptiations  with  the  earl  of  Greenvilld^  / 
for  a  quantity  of  land  in  North  Carolina  to  be  located  wherever  ' 
they  chose  ;  and  in  1751  their  agents  made  a  purchase  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  acres.  '  In  the  latter  part  of  the  following  year  this 
was  surveyed  and  entered,,mostly  in  what  is  now  Stokes,  county; 
and  the  general  deed  for  the  whole  was  signed  and  sealed,  Au- 
gust 7th  1753.  The  tract  was  called  Wachau,  or  Wachovia, 
from  respect  to  an  honorary  title  of  their  great  patron,  count 
Tinzendorf,  who  was  lord  of  the  valley  Wachauin  Austria  ;  and 
on  the  12th  of  the  ensuing  November,  twelve  young  or  unmar- 
ried men  arrived  and  began  to  make  improvements  on  Mill 
creek.  In  the  course  of  the  next  year  a  town  was  commenced 
on  the  same  spot,  called  Bethabara,  now  Old  Town ;  and  the 
towns  of  Salem,  Bethany,  Friedburg,  Friedland,  and  Hope,  were 
formed  in  pretty  rapid  succession  ;  so  that  before  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,- they  had  six  settlements,  and  a  population  pro- 
bably of  about  five  hundred.  For  intelligence  and  moral  worth; 
industry  and  economy ;  sobriety  and  good  prder,  they  are  not 
surpassed.by  any  class  of  people  in  the  country ;  and  these  have 
given  them  afliuence,  respectability,  and  a  regular  advancement 
in  whatever  is  most  desirable  and  praiseworthy. 

The  Moravians  constituted  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  (ier- 
man  population  which  came  into  the  middle  and  western  regions  , 

of  North  Carolina,  immediately  before  or  along  with  the  Pres- 
byterians and  other  dissenters ;  and  they  were  pretty  equally 
divided  between  the  Lutheran  and  German  Reformed  denomin-  \  < 
ations.  Their  grants  of  land  and  the  organization  of  their 
churches,  all  date  about  the  same  time ;  and  from  Haw  river 
to  the  mountains,  their  entire  number  could  not  have  been  much 
12 


!iO  LIFE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

less  tlian  that  of  the  Scotch-Irish.  They  had  at  least  twenty 
churches,  if  my  information  be  correct,  before  the  Declaration  of 
Independence;  and  these  were  mostly  organized  from  1770  to 
1775,  though  some  of  them  may  have  been  organized  a  little 
before  the  former  date.  They  had  but  few  preachers;  and 
liardly  any  of  these  were  calculated  to  advance  the  interests  of 
vital  piety,  or  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  people.  Some  of 
them  had  no  kind  of  authority  to  preach,  and  no  claims  to  the 
confidence  of  the  churches  on  the  score  of  piety;  but  came  out 
here,  either  from  the  northern  States  or  from  Germany,  pretend- 
ing to  be  preachers ;  exercised  an  assumed  authority  ;  and,acted 
as  self  constituted  pastors  of  ftie  churches,  or  went  from  place 
to  place,  imposing  oh  the  people  who  knew  no  better,  or  were 
glad  to  meet  with  any  one  who  came  to  them  as  a  minister  of 
Christ. ' .  Others  wer^e  probably  of  a  different  character,  and  exer- 
ted a  good  influence  ;  but  none  of  them  seem  to  have  been  dis- 
tinguisked  for  intelligence,  zeal,  and  usefulness.  Had  their 
churches  been  supplied  with  ministers  of  the  right  stamp  from  the 
first,  they  would  have  been  in  a  very  different  condition ;  and 
the  people,  possessing  in  a  high  degree,  as  they  do,  the  firmness, 
e;iergy,  and  perseverance  requisite  to  undertake  and  accomplish 
great  things,  would  have  been  with  the  foremost  in  every  good 
work. 

Of  the  Baptist  denomination  at  this  period,  my  information  is 
very  liihited.*     They  had  ministers  and  churches  before  the  Dc- 

*Qn  page  75  of  this  work,  it  is  said  that  in  Virginia,  at  one  period,  "dis- 
senting ministers  were  imprisoned  for  preachinjE:  .lesus  Christ  to  dying'  .-nen, 
and  tiiat  for  proclaiming  salvation  throusrh  the  iron  pirates  of  their  prison 
windows,  to  the  people  assembled  on  the  outside,  they  were  sometimes  taken 
out  to  the  whipping  post  and  received  forty  stripes  save  one."  The  allusion 
was  to  the  B-iptisl  ministers;  and  the  recurrence  to  it  here,  is  partly  for  the 
purpose  of  correctinjr  a  mistake.  Having  no  authority  by  me  at  the  time,  in 
relation  to  thdl  matter,  and  having  been,  t\oi  long  before,  told  by  one  who  was 
thought  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  subject,  that  such  had  been  the  tact, 
it  was  so  stated  ;  but  on  a  little  examination  after  that  part  of  the  manuscript 
had  gone  to  the  press,  it  is  believed  that  the  latter  fart  of  the  statement  is 
not  correct;  and  the  state  of  things  there,  ns  in  North  Carolina,  was  bad 
enough  without  any  exaggeration.  The  Uaptist  ministers  were  frequently 
beaten  and  maltreated  in  various  ways,  by  ill  disposed  persons;  and  they 
were  sometimes  threatened  with  the  whipping  post;  but  the  power  of  their 
enemies  did  not  extend  that  far;  and  the  act,'  if  it  had  been  done,  would. have 
been  illegal.  Many  of  them  however  were  imprisoned,  in  some  cases  for 
niorJihs  al  a  time,  and  were  treated  while  there  with  much  inhumanity;  but 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  91 

claration  of  IiidepcndencG  ;  and  about  as  early  as  the  Presbyteri- 
ans, or  any  other  class  of  dissenters.  Shubael  Streus  came  into 
what  is  now  Randolph  comity,  probably  about  1755;  and  in  a 
fev/  years  had  a  church  on  Sandy  Creek  of  60G  members.  Two 
of  his  converts,  Tidance  Lane  and  Elnathan  Davis,  btecame 
preachers;  and  remained  in  this  State  for  a  number  of  years. 
About  the  same  date  we  find  Daniel  Marsltoll  on  the  Uwharic, 
Vv^here  he  had  many  added  to  his  churCh ;  and  Joseph  Murplley 
pastor  of  a  church  on  Deep  Creek  in  Surry  cpunty.  I  find  the 
names  of  some  half  a  dozen  others,  who  were  not  stationary; 
but  spent -a  great  portion  of  their  time  in  preaching  from  place 
to  place ;  and  there  were  .no-  doubt  other  settled  ministers  of 
that  denomination  of  whom  I  have  seen  no  mention.  There 
were  churches,  besides  those  already  mentioned,  on  Abbott's 
Creek,  Tar  river,  and  probably  in  other  places.  They  must 
have  had  at  least  a  dozen  churches,  and  half  that  many  settled 
ministers,  besides  as  many  more  who  were  not  confined  to  any 
particular  place. 

In  the  fall  of  1764  the  celebrated  Whitefield  .passed  througli 
the  eastern  part  of  .this  State  on  his  way  from  ^Philadelphia  to 
Savannah  in  Georgia';*  and  in  the  -course  of  the  next  Spring  he 
passed  through  it  again  on  bis  return  to  Philadelphia.  }3oth 
times  he  preached  in  all  the  principal  towns  on  his  route,  and  to 
large  collections  of  people  who  were  deeply  interested ;  but  of 
the  permanent  results  of  his  labors  I  have  seen  no  account. 
When  at  Newcastle  on  his  return  horthward  in  the  springy  he 
says,t  "all  along  from  Charleston  to  this  place,  the  cry  is,  for 

they  preached,  whenever  occasion  offered,  to  the  people  collected  on  the  out- 
side, many  of  whom  were  converted,  and  several  who  became  pteachers. — 
See  Taylor's  Lives  of  Baptist  Ministers  in  Virginia. 

The  Toleration  Act  of  Enj^land  liad  be'en  adopted  by  the  legislative  author- 
ity in  Virtrinia ;  and  the  Presbyterian  ministers  submitted  to  that,  not  as  a 
British,  but  as  a  Virginia  law.  Their  troubles  and  vexations  were  great ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  any  of  them  were  imprisoned.  They  had  much  difli- 
culty  to  get  their  preaching  places  licensed,  and  labored  under  groat  disad- 
vantages ;  but  the  Lord  was  with  them  and  they  prospered.  The  Baptist 
ministers,  it  seems,  did  not  submit  to  that  law,  and  were  roughly  treated. — 
They  determined  to  go  to  prison  and  to  death,  rather  than  acknowledge,  in 
any  way,  th&  right  ot  man  to  take  from  them  the  privilege  of  worshipping 
God  as  tiiey  plensed  ;  but  whether  this  was  the  best  and  most  christian  course 
or  not,  is  a  matter  with  which  we  need  not  bo  concerned  at  pre.seiit. 
*Sec  Gillie's  Lile  of  Whitefield  1«2.     flbid  183. 


92  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CAldWELL,  D.D. 

Christ's  sake  stay  and  preach  to  ii:s;"  and  this  may  be  consid- 
ered as  evidence  of  both  his  previous  and  present  success.  He 
said  hin)self  of  NeM^bern,  when  he  preached  there  in  the  prece- 
ding November,  that  "good  impressions  were  made;  and  that 
he  found  what  they  called  New-Lights  in  almost  every  place  ;" 
but  what  became  of  his  converts  is  not  known,  unless  they  fell 
in  with  tlie  Methodists  wiien  they  came  into  that  region  a  few 
years  after.  This  is  mere  inference  ;  but,  from  a  variety  of  cir- 
cumstance,^, it  seems  to  be  highly  probable. 

Tiie  Methodists  had  not  done  murh  in  this  State  previous  to 
tlie  Revolutionary  War.  .  In  1775,  George  Shadford  had  charge 
of  the  Brunswick  circuit. in  Virginia,  where  .there  appears  to 
have  been  a  considerable  awakening  on  the  subject  of  religion 
which  extended  into  the  ^counties  of  Halifax  and  Bute,  now 
Franlvlin,  in  N..  Carolina  ;  and  in  July  of  that  year  Thomas  Ran- 
kin, who  had  been  sent  out  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  superintendent  of 
the  Methodist  societies  in  America,  being  on  a  visit  to  the  Bruns- 
wick circuit,  came  over  into  Carolina;  but  did  not  remain  long. 
It  is  probable  that  some  of  the  fruits  of  Whiteiield's  labors  may 
have  beeixthen  gathered  into  this  church  ;  for,  as  appears  from 
his  life,  he  preached  with,  his  accustomed  zeal  and  success  all 
through  that  region,  on  both  his  journeys  through  the  State ; 
aild,  as- he  did  nothing  towards  forming  churches  any  where, 
his  convG-rts  in  that  part  of  North  Carolina  had  no  other  oppor- 
tunity, so  far  as  is  known,  of  connecting  themselves  with  any 
christian  soci&ty.  The  first  Methodist  circuit  in  this  State,  called 
the  Carolina  circuit,  which  included  the  whole  State,  though 
their  operations  were  then  confined  pretty  much  to  a  few  coun- 
ties on  the  Roanoke  and  Albemarle,  was  formed  May  24th, 
1776;  and  they  had  at  that  time  683  members.  Edward  Druni- 
goole,  Francis  Poythuss  and  Isham  Tatum  were  appointed  on 
the  circuit ;  and  there  may  have  been  some  local  preachers  liv- 
ing in  those  counties  for  two  or  tla-ee  years  previous;  but  of 
them  we  have  no  aqcount. 

Tlie  manuscript  volume  in  the  library  at  Chapel  Hill,  already 
mentioned,  is  very  interesting  as  far  as  it  goes ;  and  throws  a 
good  deal  of  light  on  the  commencement  and  progress  of  settle- 
aiicnts  in  North  Carolina,  as  well  as  some  other  matters  of  im- 


LIVE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D.  9.'3 

porta  lice.  From  it  we  learn  that  Edgecomb  began  to  be  settled 
in  1726,  by  people  from  Virginia,  who  came  there  for  the  sake 
of  living  at  their  ease,  as  the  climate  was  mild,  the  range  good, 
and  game  in  abundance ;  Wayne  in  1785,  but  made  little  pro- 
gress, until  1750;  Franklin  about  1750;  Caswell  in  1750,  but 
had  not  more  than  ten  families  until  1735,  when  the  Leas,  Graves, 
Kimbros,  Pattersons  and  others  came  from  Orange  and  Culpep- 
per counties  in  Virginia  ;  Rockingham  in  1750,  by  hunters,  who 
were  soon  followed  by  a  more  substantial  population;  and 
Guilford  about  the  same  tin,ie,  as  appears  from  the  deeds  of  land, 
obtained  by  the  Nottingham  company.  That  company,  by  a- 
gents  sent  out  for  the  purpose,  purchased  33  surveys,' or  21,120 
acres,  on  the  waters  of  North  Buffalo  and  Reedy  Fork ;  and 
one  of  their  deeds,  which  is  now  before  me,  is  dated  December 

.  3d,  1753.  Further'  details  respecting  the  settlement  of  the  dif- 
ferent counties  at  this  period,  might  be  given ;  but  it  is  not  per- 
mitted by  the  limits  assigned  to  this  work. 

The  records  of  the  Orange  Presbytery,  which  was  the  oldest 
and  for  a  long  time  the  only  Presbytery  in  North  Carolii^a,  hav- 
ing been  destroyed  some  years  ago,  very  little  is  known  about 
the  early  history  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  this  State  ;  but 
there  were  a  good  many  churches  organized  a  number  of  years 

ibefore  there  were  any  settled  mhiisters.  From  1745  to  1758  the 
two  Synods  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  appointed  mission- 
aries frequently  to  North  Carolina  as  well  as  to  the  other  pro- 
vinces to  the  South  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  Presbyteries  in 
that  region  did  more  in  this  kind  of  missionary  labor-  than  the 
Synods.  After  the  two  Synods  were  united  in  1758,  praisewor- 
thy efforts  were  made  to  have  the  southern  settlements  supplied  ; 
but  it  appears  that  the  appointments  were  not  often  fulfilled, 
during  the  French  war,  owing  to  the  difficuhies  and  dangers  of 
travelling.  The  churches  in  Granville  are  said  to  have  been 
organized  by  the  Rev.  William  Tennant,  and  the  Lord's  supper 
to  have  been  administered  by  him  for  the  first  time  in  that  coun- 
ty ;  but  when  this  was  done  is  not  known.  It  is  also  said  that 
the  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead  who  came  into  this  State  in  the 
autumn  of  1755  and  died  in  March  1766,  organized  most  of  the 
oliurchcs  in  JNIecklenbursf  and  Cabarrus  counties  ;  and  of  course 


)! 


!( 


94  LIFE  OF  DAVU)  CAiiBWELL^  Ti.D 

they  must  have  been  organized  between  those  dates.  It  is  not 
known  precisely  when  or  where  the  first  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized  in  the  State,  ?ind  for  the  reason  already  given. — 
In  a  cohimuilication  of  the  Synofl  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
.Scotland,,  in  1753,  they  say,  "  There  are  also  large  settlements 
lately  planted  in  various  parts,  particularly  in  North  and  South 
Carolina,  where  multitudes  are  extremely  anxious  for  the  min- 
istration of  the  gSspel,  but  who  are  not  formed  into  congrega- 
tions and  regularly  organized  for  want  of  ministers  ;*  and  in 
1755,  the  Presbytery  of  Newcastle  sta,te  that,  in  addition  to  a 
vast  number  of  vacant  congregations  under  their  care  in  Penn- 
sylva^iia,  JNIaryland  and  Virginia,  there  were  fourteen  congre- 
gations in  Nofth  ,  Carolina  that  were  looking  to  them  for  sup- 
plies.! It  is  probable  that  some  of  the  churches  in  Cumberland 
county  were  among  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first  organized 
churches  of  the  Presbyteriai;i  order  in  the  State ;  but  this  is  a 
niatter  of  inference.  In  the  summer  of  1755  the  Rev.  Hugh  Mc- 
Adden  was  sent  out  hj  the  Presbytery  of  Newcastle  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  North  Carolina,  and  spent  nearly  a  year  in  traversing 
the  State  from  one  end  to  the  other.  In  his  missionary  journal, 
which  is  110  w  in  my  possession  and.  is  full  of  interest,  he  speaks 
of  several  meeting  houses ;  a  great  many  pious  people  with 
whom  he  became  acquainted ;  and  a  number  of  settlements 
where  he  was  most  earnestly  entreated  to  remain  and  become 
their  pastor ;  but  says  nothing  about  organized  churches.  The 
writer  has  been  told  by  some  of  our  oldpst  ministers  that  the 
church  now  known  as  the  Red  House  is  aboiit  the  oldest  in  the 
State  ;  but  this  can  hardly  be  correct ;  for,  although  Mr,  Mc Ad- 
den  preached  frequently  in  that  neighborhood,  he  makes  no  men- 
tion of  any  church  nor  of  any  house  for  public  worship. 

The  first  Presbyterian  minister,  known  to  have  settled  in  the 
Scotch  region,  was  the  Rev.  James  Carnpbell ;  and  the  following 
account  of  him  from  the  Rev.  Colin  Mclver,  will  be  read  with 
interest,  "•  He  was  originally  from  Campbelltown,  in  Argyl- 
shire,  in  Scotland;  and  he  is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  excellent 
of  the  earth, — as  an  emit^ent-christian,  and  an  active,  assiduous, 
and  useful  minister  of  the  gospel.  He  is  said  to  have  left  his 
il.'.lnr'niislory  OiM.     ^Ibicl.  318. 


HiiK  «F  IBAViB  CAI.I)WEiLL,  D.D.  D./. 

native  country,  and  to  have  arrived  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
a  licensed  preacher,  in  1730.  ,  Soon  after  he,  was  ordained  to  the 
gospel  ministry,  and  installed  as  pastor  of  a  congregation  some- 
where in  Pennsylvania.  Ndt  long  after  his  ordhiation,  he  be- 
came considerably  dejected  ;  and,  under  the  influence  of  a  fear 
that  he  had  taken  upon  himself  the  ministerial  oflice  without  bcr- 
:  ing  duly  called,  he  ceased,  for  a  few  years,  to  preach.  From 
this  unhappy  state  of  mind,  however, 'he  was  relieved  by  the 
celebrated  Mr.  Whitefield;  and  became  more  zealous  and  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  the  ministry  than  he  had  ever  been.  In 
1755  he  removed  to  this  State,  and'  had  charge  of  four  congre- 
gations on  Cape  Fear  river,  not  many  miles  from  FayetteviJle. 
To  these  congregations,  he  acted  the  part  of  a  very  faithful  and 
devoted 'pastor,  until  he  was  removed  by  death  in  1781.^'  Al- 
though Mr.  McAdden  spent  some  time  in  that  region  he  makes 
mention  of  no  minister,  except  one  of  the  Baptist  denomination, 
by  the  name  of  Miller ;  and  from  this  it  might  be  inferred  that 
INIr.  Campbell  had  not  arrived,  or  had  not  become  much  known; 
but  he  speaks  of  the  Irish  settlement  in  Duplin  with  much  inter- 
est, and  soon  after  became  their  pastor.  He  set  ofl'  from  this  set- 
tlement about  the  first  of  May,  on  his  return  to  Pennsylvania ; 
and  spent  about  two  weeks  of  missionary  service  in  the  counties 
and  towns  along  the  sea  board,  of  which  he  gives  a  very  unfa- 
vorable account  as  to  the  state  of  religion.  At  what  time  ho 
came  to  reside  in  North  Carolina  iS  not  known  ;  but  it  must  have 
been  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two  ;  for  his  family  have  informed 
me  that  he  lived  several,  perhaps  nine  or  ten  years,  in  Duplin  ; 
and  the  same  fact  is  mentioned  in  the  collection  of  manuscripts  \ 
to  which  reference  has  been  already  made. 

Besides  numerous  appointments  of  missionaries  to  the  south 
every  year,  in  1764,  the  Synod,  considering  the  state  of  many 
congregations  in  the  south,  particularly  in  North  Carolina,  and 
the  great  importance  of  having  those  congregations  properly 
organized,  appointed  the  Rev.  Eliliu_S£encer_and  Alexander 
McWhorter,  as  missionaries  to  this  country,  that  they  might 
form  societies,  help  them  in  adjusting  their  bounds,  ordain  el- 
ders, administer  sealing  ordinances,^  instruct  the  people  in  disci- 
pline, and  firmlly  direct  them  in  their  conduct,  particularly  in    ■ 


) 


96  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

what  manner  tliey  should  proceed  to  obtain  the  stated  mmistry.* 
These  missionaries  fulfilled  their  appointment  jf  and  were  ex- 
ceedingly useful.  When  the  writer  first  came  into  this  county, 
some  very  aged  people  still  recollected  Mr.  Spencer ;  and  said  that 
he  had  organized  many  of  the  churches  in  this  region.  He  was 
present  at  the  organization  of  Alamance  church  ;  and  probably 
lie  organized  Haw  River  about  the  same  time,  though  they  had 
a  house  of  worship  there,  as  early  as  1762,  as  I  have  been  re- 

\  cently  informed  by  an  elder  of  that  church.  Those  ministei:s 
were  both  urged  by  the  people  in  different  places  to  settle  in 
Carolina ;  but  declined  the  invitation. 

The  Presbytery  of  Hanover  which  at  that  time  appears  to 
.  have  extended  over,  the  whole  country  south  of  the  Potomac, 
was  very  active  in  giving  occasional  supplies  to  the  vacancies, 
and  some  settled  pastors  to  the  churches,  in  North  Carolina. — 
Mr.  McAdden  was  received  as  a  licentiate  from  the  Presbytery 
of  Newcastle,  Oct.  4th,  1759  ;  and  when  the  Presbytery  met  at 
Buffalo,  March  3rd,  1768  to  instal  Dr.  Caldwell  as  pastor  of  the 

*•   churches  in  Guilford,  calls  were  presented  for  his  pastoral  servi- 
%  ces,  from  Hico,  Dan  river  and  Country  Line,  which,  after  some 
consideration,  it  appears  he  accepted,  and  continued  to  labor 
faithfully  there  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  until  he  was 'removed  by  j 
death,  in  January  1781.     Joseph  Alexander  was  received  as  a/ 
licentiate;  from,  the  Presbytery  of  Newcastle ;  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  as  pastor  of  Sugar  creek  in  March  1768.     Henry 
Patillo  was  licensed  by  the  Haiiover  Presbytery  in  1755;  or- 
dained in  1758;  and  accepted  a  call  from  Hawfields  in  1765. 
James  Criswell  was  licensed  by  the  same  Presbytery  in  1764  ; 
received  a  call  from  Nutbush,  Grassy  creek,  and  Lower  Hico,  in  - 
the  same  year  ;  and  in  1765  was  ordained  as  their  pastor. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  held  in  Buffalo  church,  March 
7th,  177(p,  Hezekiah  Balch  was  received  as  a  licentiate  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Newcastle,  and  was  ordained.  At  the  same 
meeting  a  petition  was  dra^vn  up,  addressed  to  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia  and  New  York,  for  the  organization  of  a  tiew 
Presbytery,  to  be  called  the  Presbytery  of  Orange.  This  peti- 
tion was  signed  by  Hugh  McAdden,  David  Caldwell,  Henry 
^Records  of  tlic  Prcshyterian  Churcli,  p.  ;3;39,     ]  Ibid.  343. 


LIFK  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.W.  97 

Patillo,  Joseph  Alexander,  Hczekiah  Balch,  and  Jamos  Cris- 
wcU  ;*  and  to  these  was  afterwards  added  the  name  of  llczek'iaii. 
James  Balch,. a  licentiate  under  the  ciire  of  Donegal  lr*resbytor\'. 
who  had  been  sent  out  here  by  the  Synod  as  a  missionajiy.  The 
petitioners  requested  that  tlie  Synod  would  appoint  the  first 
meeting  to  be  held  at  ilawfields  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  the 
following  September,  which  would  be  Sept.  1st,  1770;  and  the 
petition  was  granted  accordingly.  From  all  this  it  appears  that 
David  Caldwell  was  among  the  first  settled  ministers  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  North  Carolina ;  and  his  nanic  is  identified 
with  the  history  of  our  church  in  this  State,  more  perhaps  than 
the  name  of  any  other  man  in  it ;  for  he  lived  riiuch  longer  than 
any  other)  and  considering  all  the  ways  in  which  his  influence 
was  exerted  he  did  more  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  for  the 
advancement  of  sound  learning  and  Bible  religion. 

The  walls  of  Jerusalem  were  built  here  "in  troublous  times;^' 
for,  at  the  period  now  under  consideration,  the  country  was  in  a 
high  degree  of  exasperation.  The  people  were  in  open  hostility 
with  the  government;  and  the  delicate  and  trying  part  which  Dr. 
Caldwell  and  some  of  his  brethren  had  to  act,  makes  it  necessary 
that  we  should  enquire  a  little  into  the  causes  and  results  of  the 
prevailing  excitement. 

It  has  been  seen  that  from  the  time  the  authority  of  the  pro- 
prietors Avas  extended  over  the  iiftle  settlement  on  the  Albe- 
marle, dissatisfaction,  more  or  less  intense,  according  to  circum- 
stances, was  felt  by  the  settlers;  and  that  there  were  frequent 
risings  of  the  people  against  the  government.  The  laws  were 
often  not  suited  to  their  condition  ;  and  were  as  often  disregarded 
or  trampled  on  by  the  rulers,  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  then- 
avarice  or  their  love  of  power.  North  Carolina,  for  more  than 
a  hundred  years  was  "insulted  and  oppressed  by  the  weak  or 
vicious  administration  of  wicked  judges  and  worthless  govern- 
ors." The  royal  governors  were  entrusted  with  extensive  pow- 
er by  the  king  ;  and  it  was  always  exercised  to  depress  the  spi- 
rit of  freedom.  The  absolute  veto  which  they  had  on  the  acts 
of  the  assembly,  and  the  power  of  proroguing  or  dissolving  the 

^Records  of  Hanover  Presbvter\%     Presbyterian  Records  "99.     Iloflefe's 

History  08 1.  "  " 

13 


WW  LIFE    OP  DAVID  CAldWElL,  D.D. 

assembly  at  pleasure  made  each  one,  for  the  time  bemg,  nearly 
absohite  sovereign  of  the  province.  The  people  had  no  remedy; 
for  they  held  their  office,  not  durmg  good  behaviour,  but  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  crown.  The  same  was  the  case  with  the 
judges ,  and  if  the  idea  of  being  in  subjection  to  a  foreign  power 
is  always  himiiliating,  no  matter  with  \yhat  lenity  it  is  exfercised, 
it  becomes  mtolerable  in  the  hands  of  men  who  have  neither 
moral  rectitude  nor  a  se:nse  of  honor,  and  who  are  unremovable 
except  by  the  hand  of  death  or  the  pleasure. of  a  distant  mon- 
arch. In  addition  to  all  this,  for  a  long  time,  the  officers  of  eve- 
ry grade,  from  the  governor  down  to  the  sheriii,  were  paid,  not 
bvva  fixed  salary,  but  by  fees  which  afforded  great  temptations 
and  great  facilities  for  extortion  and  corruption.  In  1760  the 
lower  liouse  sent  an  address  to  the  king  in  which  they  say 
that  by  the  injudicious  and  partial  ^appointment  of  justices,  un- 
qualified for  the  trust,  and  by  the  removal  of  others  liable  to  no 
objection,  magistracy  had. fallen  into  contempt,  and.  courts  had 
lost  their  influence  and. .dignity  ;  that  rioters  were  permitted  to 
assemble  in  several  parts  of  the  provhice,  erect  sham  judicatures, 
imprison  the  peaceable  subjects  of  the  king,  break  open  jails, 
and  release  malefactors  with  impunity  ;  that  the  authors  of  these 
outrages  were  countenanced  by  the  governor  and  honored  with 
commissions  as. justices  and  militia  officers  ;.  that  citizens  had 
received  corporal  punishhienl  by  the  arbitrary  mandates  and 
private  orders  of  judges  still  continued  in  office ;  thai  illegal  and 
arbitrary  pecuniary  claims  were  enforced  for  the  use  of  the 
governor  and  secretary  ;  that  the  forms  of  writs  of  elections 
had  been  arbitrarily  altered  and  diversified,  to  have  particular 
men  chosen  and  defeat  theelection  of  others  ;  some  writs  direct- 
ing the  freeholders,  others  the  inhabitants  generally,  to  choose, 
— by  which  last  form  servants  and  even  convicts  might  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  polls,  whereas,  by  King  Charles'  charter,  laws 
Averc  directed  to  be  made  by  the  assent  of  freemen  and  their 
delegates;  that  a  writ  had  been  issued  to  one  county  for  fewer 
members  than  they  had  used  and  ought  to  send,  and  to  another 
none  at, all,  till  several  bills  had  passed  ;  by  which  practices  it 
remained  no  longer  a  secret,  that  the  governor  intended  to  mod- 
el the  assembly  for  his  own  particular  purposes,  as  he  had  be- 


LIFE  Oy  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.I).  ?)f' 

fore  reformed  the  council  by  suspensions  and  new  appoint- 
ments.* It  was  governor  Dobbs  against  whom  those  charges 
were  made  ;  and  they  appear  to  have  been  all  wetf  founded  ; 
but  an  example  or  two  for  the  sake  of  illustration  will  be  sulii- 
cient.  The  people  who  lived  on  Granville's  reservation,  about 
two  thirds  of  the  whole,  were  no  less  oppressed  by  his  lordship's 
agents  than  by  the  enactments  of  Parliament  and  the'  imposi- 
tions of  the  governor.  In  1752  the  compensation  allowed  the 
agents,  which  had  been  ten  per  cent,  on  all  the  money  or  pro- 
duce they  received,  and  the  same  on  all  the  remittances  made, 
was  altered  to  five  per  cent,  and  an  annual  salary  of  two  lunu 
dred  pounds  to  each  of  them.  Childs  &  Corbin,  who,  about  this 
time  succeeded  Mosely  &  Holten,  not. being  satisfied  with  their 
respective  salaries  and  commissions,  contrived,  by  the  most  vil- 
lanous  means  to  extort  money  from  those  who  had  already  paid 
for  their  lands.  One  of  them,  being  a  lawyer,  pretended  toliave 
discovered  a  fatal  defect  in  the  former  patents,  which  had  been 
signed  simply,  Granville,  by  his  attorneys,  Moseley.&  Holten 
pretending  that  it  ought  to  have  been,  "The  right  honorable 
earl  Granville,  by  his  attorneys"  &c.  The  Consequence  of  which 
wtis  that  people,  not  knowing  any  better  or  not^  being  able  to 
protect  their  rights  by  an  appeal  to  Granville  who  lived  in  Eng- 
land, were  induced  to  take  out  new  patents ;  and  had  all  the 
fees  to  pay  a  second  time.  /.Hut  as  this  fraud  could  not  reach 
the  grants  made  by  themselves,  they  adopted  a  diif6rent  plan 
with  respect  to  them ;  and  demanded  two  pistoles  for  an  entry 
instead  of  one,  which  was  the  regular  fee.  They  contrived  a 
device  which  they  fixed  to  a  warrant  of  survey,  without  the 
least  shadow  of  authority,  and  for  which  they  charged  six  dol- 
lars; and  they  frequently  induced  people  to  enter  lands  which 
they  knew  had  been  taken  up,  but  refused  to  return  the  fees 
when  the  imposition  was  discovered. 

The  deputy  surveyors,  entry  takers,  and  other  officers  of  in- 
ferior grade  in  that  department,  encouraged  by  the  example  of 
their  leaders,  soon  became  as  much  of  adepts  in  the  practice  of 
chicane  and  extortion.  The  assembly  sent  a  remonstrance  to 
lord  Granville,  and  he,  being  convinced  that  his  chief  agents 

*Marlin,  vol.  2,  p.  IIS. 


100  LIVE  OF  UAVll)  CALIXWELL.  D.D 

WQVc  guilty,  wvote  to  them  on  the  suhject ;  butit  was  of  no  avail; 
for  tiie  laws  of  the  province  did  not,  reach  the  offenders  ;  and  the 
abuse.s  continued'  until  1765,  when  th&land  office  was  shut. — 
In  tiie  meail  time  the  people,  finding  the  laws  of  the  country 
could  afford  them  i\a  relief,  and  that  the  complaints  made  to  his 
lordship  were  unavailing ;  that  Corbin,  who  had  the  chief  di- 
rection pf  the  land  office,  was  increasing  his  fees  from  time  to  time 
without  autjiorijy;,  cind.that  he  did  not  try  to  conceal  his  cxtor- 
tionsjbut  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  their  complaints, resolved  to  take 
theredreiss  of  their  grievances  into  their  own  hands;  and  ten  or 
iiilcen  men,  well  mounted,  crossing  Chowan  river  a  few  miles  a- 
bove  Edenton,  by  night,  seized  Corbin,  who  lived  a  few  miles 
b^low,,  and  brought  him  to  Enfield,  where  they  kept  him  until 
he  gave  them  a  .bond  in  4S0OO,  with  eight  sureties,  that  he 
would  produce  his  books  within  three  weeks,  and  return  all  his 
illegal  fees. ,  He  did  not  comply  with  liis  promise  ;  but  commen- 
ced suit  against  four  of  the  rioters,  who,  refusing  to  give  security, 
were  committed  to  Enfield  jail.  The  prison  door  being  cut 
down  the  next  day  by  an  armed  posse.,  and  the  prisoners  re-r 
lo'ased,  Corbin  fpund  it  necessary  to  discontinue  his  suit  and  pay 
^costs.*^  Governor  Dobbs,  instead  of  frowning  upon  such  coji- 
duct  -in  other  officers,  or  taking  any  proper  steps  to  prevent,  dis- 
orders of  this  kind,  set  the  example  himself.  Finding  an  old 
law  passed  in  1715,  which  subjectecl  the  masters  of  vessels  to  a 
])cnalty  for  carrying -debtors  out  of  the  province,  although  the  law 
was  not  to  be  executed  by  him  in  person,  and  although  he  had 
nothing  more  to  do  with  it  than  to  sustain  the  other  officers  in 
the  discliarge  of  their  duty,  he  took  occasion  from  it  to  make  an 
office  for  himself.  He  ordered  that  no  vessel  should  sail  without 
an  ordeK  from  him,  lest  there  should  be  a  debtor  on  board  ;  and 
he  demanded  half  a  pistole  from  the  owner  or  master  of  every 
vessel  that  left  the  ports. 

The  Enfield  riot,  as  it  was  termed,  occurred  in  1759 ;  and  in 
a  few  months  after,  the  magestrates  of  Halifax  having  neglected 
to  recommend  a  sheriff,  the  governor  commissioned  one  of  the 
most  active  rioters ;  and  \\t.  could  not  be  prevailed  on  by  the 
assembly  to  take  any  measures- against  {hem,  becavsc  one  Mc- 

••'=\Villiun.Eoli,  vol.  2,  p.  lOG-11-2. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  101 

Culloch  who  was  one  of  his  coiinseUors,  and  a  favorite,  liad  licen 
concerned  in  or  was  privy  to  the  riot.  He  was  allied  to  a  gen- 
tleman who  wished  to  have  Corbin  disgraced,  that  he  might  get 
the  otrlce,  which  was  a  very  lucrative  one,  for  himself,  and  he 
iinally  succeeded.  An  act  had' been  passed  for  erecting  public 
buildings,  and  fixing  the  seat  of  government  at  Tower  Hill  on 
Neuse  river ;  but  when  the  assembly  was  induced  by  the  heavy 
expenses  of  the  >var,  and  other  reasons,  to  attempt  a  repeal  of 
the  act  in  1762,  he  refused  his  assent,  because  l|e  owned  the 
kind  there.  .\Viien  the  assembly  wished  to  appoint  a  standing 
agent  to  attend  to  their  business  in  England,  a  measure  whicli 
was  deemed  to  be  of  vital  importance,  especially  to  their  com- 
mercial interests,  and  had  been  adopted  by  most  of  the  other 
colonies,  he  refused  to  let  them  have  any  agent  there;  unless 
they  v/ould  appoint  one  Smith,  who  was  his  own  agent  or  at- 
torney^ in  London ;  and  the  same  course  seems  to  have  been 
invariably  pursued  as  his  interest  or  his  self-importance  dictated. 
The  number  of  counties  having  more  than  doubled  since  the  sur- 
render of  the  charter,  and  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature, 
according  to  the  former  ratio  of  representation,  becoming  too 
numerous  to  suit  his  purpose,  the  king,  by  his- influence,  and 
with  a  plea  that  the  right  of  making  counties  and  boroughs, 
was  a  branch  of  the  royal  perogative,  repealed  the  several  acts 
by  wliich  Bertie,  Tyrrell,  Onslow,  Bladen,  Edgecbmb,  North- 
ampton, Johiiston,  .Granville,  Duplin,  Anson,  Grange,  Rowan, 
and  Cmnberland  counties  had  been  erected ;  and  also  those  by 
which  the  boroughs  of  Beaufort,  Bath,  Edenton,  Brunswich, 
and  Wilmington  had  been  formed.  The  counties  were  to  be 
formed  anew,  but  in  such  a  way  that  some  of  them  would  not 
have  more  than  one,  and  none  of  them  more  than  two  members. 
The  boroughs  might  be  chartered  again,  but  that  would  be  done 
only  where  the  inhabitants  were  found  to  be  mo^t  flexible.  In 
carrying  out  these  measures,  however,  his  excellency  soon  found 
himself  involved  in  very  serious  difficulties ;  for  by  tlie  repeal 
of  the  borough  charters,  the  property  in  town  lots  and  houses, 
reverted  to  the  original  owners  of  the  land — a  measure  whicli 
excited  great  indignation,  and  would  soon  have  produced  a  gen- 
*WilIiamson,  vol.  2,  p.  98. 


102  LIKE  OF  DAVIi)  CALDWELL,  D.D 

eral  revolt.  In  tliis  critical  state  of  affairs,  he  was  instructed  by 
the  king,*  on  the  prayer  and  remonstrance  of,  the  assembly,  to 
sanction  a  law  for  re-chartering  these  comities  and  boroughs, 
"  saving  to  his  majesty,  his  royal  prerogative,  of  granting  his 
letters  of  incorporation  to  such  counties  and  boroughs,  orderilig 
elections,  and  appointing  the  number  of  members,  by  whoin 
such  counties  and  towns  should  be  represented  in  the  assembly, 
as  if  that  act  had  not  passed."  Until  the  charters  were  renewed 
they  could  not  elect  representatives  to  the  assembly ;  but  as  ex- 
horbitant  fees  were  demanded  for  the  charters,  it  was  made  in 
the  end  a  profitable ' measure  to  th<^  governor;  and  thus  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  country  were  sacrificed  to  the  ava- 
rice of  those  who  ought  to  have  been  their  guardians  and  pro- 
moters. ' 

Duriilg  the  proprietary  government,  when  laws  were  not  in 
force  more  than  two  years,  unless  reiiewed,  the  governors  soon 
contrived  to  make  that  a  source  of  profit,  by  demanding  a  par- 
ticular douceur,  for  giving  then*  assent  to  the  renewal  of  laws 
which  were  deemed  important,  and  the  practice  was  not  only 
continued  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  but  improved  on  by  their 
successors,  and  soon  extended  to  all  the  officers  of  government. 
In  1759,  the  lower  house  in  a  message  to  the  upper,  on  the  new 
court  system,  then  under  discussion,  observed,*  that  the  practice 
which  had  hitherto  prevailed,  of  the  chief  justice  exacting  from 
the  clerks-a  Considerable  proportion  of  their  legal  fees,  had  been 
the  cause  of  their  being  guilty  of  great  extortions,  whereby  the 
superior  courts  liad  become  scenes  of  oppression,  and  the  con- 
duct of  the  chief  justice  and  clerks  a  subject  of  universal  com- 
plaint ;  and  testimonies  to  the  same  point  might  be  multiplied  to 
a  much  greater  extent,  if  it  were  necessary.  This  state  of  things 
continued,  and  perhaps  became  much  worse,  at  least  in  the 
lower  grades  of  oifice,  until  the  people,  unwilling  to  bear  it  any 
longer,  undertook  to  regulate  matters  themselves ;  and,  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  design,  assumed  the  name  of  REGULATORS. 
The  Regulation,  as  it  was  called,  was  therefore  only  one  of  a 
scries  of  efforts  made  by  the  people  at  different  periods  of  out 
colonial  history,  to  obtain  a  redress  of  their  grievances,  when- 

=^Murtii),  val.  2,  p.  KiU.  ■       "  . 


LIFE  OK  DAVJD  C ALDWKLL,  I). I).  103 

ever  they  became  intolerable,  by  a  manly  and  determined  as- 
sertion of  their  rights.  A  correction  of  the  extortions  and  abuses 
already  mentioned,  wiiich,  instead  of  any  radical  or  thorough 
reformation,  appear  to  have  increased,  was  the  object  of  the 
Regulators;  but  there  were  some  additional  causes  of  dissatis- 
faction, which  deserve  to  be  noticed  here. 

The  French  and  Indian  war,  which  was  terminated  by  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  signed  Feb.  10th,  1763,  had  brought  upon  the 
province  a  heavy  debt ;  and  the  ability  to  discharge  it  Wa-s 
tliought  to  be  diminished  by  the  great  depreciation  of  the  provin- 
cial currency,  The  paper  money  issued  by  the  assembly  from 
time  to  time  and  for  various  purposes,  had  nominally  retained 
its  proclamation  value  until  about  this  time  ;  but  now  it  was  so 
depreciated  that  one  Spanish  dollar  was  worth  nearly  two  of 
proclamation  money.*  In  addition  to  all  this,  the  governor,  either 
to  gratify  his  vanity,  or  to  try  the  extent  of  his  influence,  sub- 
jected the  province  to  very  heavy  demands  for  objects  which 

*In  1764  the  amount  of  bills  of  credit  and  treasury  notes  unredermed' was 
a  fraction  over  £75,032,  for  the  redemption  of  which  a  duty  of  4  pence  per  jral- 
]on  on  imported  spirit?,  and  a  poll  tax  of  4  shillings  was  laid  until  the  whole 
should  be  sunk,  which,  m  addition  to  the  pre-existing'tax,  amounted  to  7  shil- 
lings on  every  taxable  inhabitant,  includmg  probably,  all  the  men  and  negroes 
between  16  and  60  years  of  age. 

By  a  proclamation  of  Queen  Anne,  June  18th,  1704,  regulating  the  curren- 
cy of  foreign  coin  in  the  several  colonies  and  plantations  of  America,  the  val- 
ue of  the  billa  of  credit  issued  by  the  colonial  assemblies,  was  fixed  at  six 
shillings  to  the  dollar,  which  was  an  advance  of  33  1-3  per  cent,  on  the  ster- 
ling money  of  England ;  and  this  proclamation  value  was  retained,  though 
for  some  years  only  nominally,  until  1764,  when  the  bills  could  not  be  passed 
under  an  advance  of  88  per  cent,  on  the  sterling  money,, or  8  shillings  to  the 
dollar.  From  that  time  8  shillings  to  the  dollar  became  the  currency  of  N. 
Carolina,  by  custom  or  necessity,  and  not  from  any  legislative  enactment;  for 
tiie  king,  it  seems,  claimed  it  as  his  prerogative  to  regulate  the  value  of  for- 
eign com  in  the  province;  and  with  a  moment's  calculation  any  one  can  see 
the  amount  of  loss  sustained  by  tiie  people  on  £75,032.  In  some  of  the  other 
colonies,  as  in  those  of  New  England  and  Virgmia,  the  true  proclamation  val- 
ue was  retained  until  the  adoption  of  the  federal  currency;  in  others,  as  in 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland  it  depreciated  to  7s.  6d. 
In  New  York  it  was  the  same  as  in  N.  Carolina;  and  in  S.  Carolina  the  de- 
preciationappears  to  have  been  only  2  pence  on  the  dollar. 

Tiiis  note  is  intended,  not  as  a  possilive  or  correct  statement,  in  relation  to 
this  matter,  but  as  a  suggestion  for  others  to  take  it  up,  who  are  capable  of  do- 
ing it  justice,  and  give  it  the  consideration  which  its  importance  demands;  for 
a  full  history  and  a  clear  exposition  of  this  whole  subject,  the  currency,  inclu- 
ding all  the  causes  and  eflects  of  depreciation  from  the  beginning  up  to  the 
present  time,  would  certainly  be  interesting,  and  might  be  useful. 


104  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

were  quite  uniiessary  ;  and  were  therefore  illtimad.  The  peo- 
pleliad  become  so  dissatisfied  with  governor  Dobbs,  and  their 
complaints  against  him  were  so  loud  that  it  was  thought  best 
to  let  him  visit  England  "for  the  benefit  of  his  health;"  and 
William  Trj^on,  who  had  been  trained  to  the  profession  of  arms, 
was  sent  out  to  take  his  place.  He  qualified  as  lieutenant  go- 
vernor at  Wilmington,  Oct.  27th,  1764;  and  Dobbs  who  was 
about  82  years  of  age,  having  died  on  the  28th  of  March  folio w-> 
ing  before  he  left  the  shores  of  America,  Tryon  qualified  as  go- 
vernor and  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  office.  If  he  had  not 
been  so  libefally  educated  as  his  predecessor^  he  was  neither  so 
bigoted,  so  avaricious,  nor  so  irritable ;  but  he  appears  to  have 
been  fond  of  display  and  the  exercise  of  authority.  His  firmness 
and  other  quahfications  as  governor  were  soon  put  to  the  test ; 
and  the  final  result  is  generally  kiiown. 

The  British  parliament  adopted  a  resolution,  March  10th, 
1764,  the  year  in  which  Tryon  came  out  here  as  lieutenant  gov- 
ernor, asserting  their  j'i'ghttatsix  the  American  colonies  with- 
out their  consent,  which  produced  a  great  excitement  in  North 
Carolina,  as  it  did  in  all  the  other  colonies ;  and  in  the  early 
part  of  the  next  year  an  act  was  passed,  laying  duties  on  certain 
stamps,  which  received  the  king's  assent  on  the  22d/ of  March. 
Meetings  were  held  and  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  people, 
in  all  parts  of  the  province,  expressing  their  feelings  and  purpo- 
ses in  relation  both  to  this  measure,  and  to  the  abstract  principle 
on  which  it  was  founded.  The  people  were  more  unanimous 
in  this  perhaps  than  they  have  ever  been  before  or  since ;  for 
they  concluded  that  if  the  British  government  could  take  any  of 
their  property  without  their  consent,  it  could,  with  the  same 
propriety,  take  the  whole.  On  the  5th  of  Januar\^  1766,  the 
governor  announced  the  arrival  of  the  sloop  of  war  Diligence, 
in  the  Cape  Fear,  with  a  quantity  of  stamp  paper  on  board,  for 
the  use  of  the  province;  and  called  on  those  who  were  aullior- 
ized  to  act  as  distributors  of  the  stamps,  to  apply  to  the  captain 
of  the  vessel  for  them ;  but  the  people  there,  with  Col.  John 
x\she  and  Col.  Hugh  Waddell  at  their  head,  made  such  a  united, 
bold,  and  detejiTiined  resistance,  that  the  governor  was  obliged 
to  yield  ;  .lames  llouslon.  who  had  been  appointed  stamp  mas- 


LIFE  OF  PAVin  CALDWELL,  D.D.  1(^5 

ler,  and  was  also  one  of  the  council,  was  compelled  to  take  an 
oath  that  he  would  not  proceed  on  the  duties  of  his  oflice  ;  and 
the  stamps  were  not  even  landed.  In  the  month  of  March  this 
odious  act  was  repealed  ;  and  on  the  15th  of  June  a  communi- 
cation was  received  from  tlie  British  minister  announcing  the 
fact,  which  caused  great  joy,  and  gave  to  that  region  a  tempo- 
rary tranquility.  Their  successful  resistance  to  the  stamp  act, 
shewed  the  people  their  strength ;  and  it  taught  them  the  im- 
portance of  union,  a  lesson  which,  if  it  had  been  duly  remem- 
bered, would  have  been  of  great  service  to  them  afterwards,  and 
would  have  saved  them  from  a  vast  deal  of  suffering. 

The  governor  did  not  dare  to  meet  the  assembly  while  the 
stamp  act  was  in  force  ;  but  prorogued  it  until  he  could  say  that 
the  a.ct  was  repealed.  When  it  met  Nov.  3d,  1766,  he  proposed 
and  carried  two  measures,  which  were  both  unnecessary,  except 
for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  his  vanity ;  but  they  increased 
alike  the  debt  of  the  province  and  the  discontent  of  the  people. 
An  act  was  passed  and  an  appropriation  made  for  running  the 
dividing  line  between  the  western  settlements  of  the  province 
and  the  Cherokee  hunting  grounds.  He  was  authorized  to  ap- 
point three  commissioners  for  the  purpose  ;  but  for  their  protec- 
tion, or  to  gratify  his  "  natural  as  well  as  acquired  fondness  for 
military  parade"  he  "marched  in  person  to  perform  it,  in  a  time 
of  profound  peace,  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  mihtia,  iu  all  the 
pomp  of  war;  and  returned  with  the  honorable  title  conferred 
on  him  by  the  Cherokees,of  the  Great  Wolf  of  North  Carolina;''^ 
and  thus  the  country  had  to  pay  for  "an  opportunity  of  exercis- 
ing his  military  talents  and  making  a  splendid  show  of  himself 
to  the  Indians,"  By  a  great  deal  of  management  and  persevei^ 
ance  he  prevailed  on  the  assembly,  at  the  same  session,  to  aji- 
propriate  £5000  for  building  a  governor's  house  at  Newbcrn  ; 
but  as  the  direction  of  the  business  was  left  to  him  he  expended 
this  sum  without  raising  it  much  above  the  foundation.  When 
the  assembly  met  the  next  year  he  made  his  report ;  and  they 
found  themselves  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  losing  the 
appropriation  already  made,  or  of  giving  £10,000  more  for  the 
completion  of  the  work.  They  preferred  the  latter;  and  ihus 
£15,000  was  added  to  a  debt  which  was  already  enormous  for 
14 


lf)6  LIFE  OF  UAVII)  CALDWELL.  D.D 

the  impoverished  condition  of  the  country.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  building  of  Tiyon's  palace  was  the  cause  of  the  Regu- 
lation ;  but  this  is  a  mistake.  It  was  one  item  in  the  catalogue 
of  grievances,  or  formed  one  subject  of  complaint ;  but  it  was 
viewed  as  a  small  matter  compared  with  some  others.  Distur- 
bances too  had  taken  place  in  ditferent  parts  of  the  country  be- 
fore this  time ;  and  the  minds  of  the  people,  from  a  hundred 
miles  of  the  seaboard  to  the  fool  of  the  mountains,  had  been  pre- 
paring for  a  general  revolt. 

It  does  n.ot  appear  on  the  pages  of  history'-  that  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  were  disposed  to  rebel,  without  a  cause,  against 
the  authority  of  those  who  were  properly  authorized  to  admin- 
ister the  laws,  or  that  they  ever  refused  to  pay  whatever  taxes 
might  be  necessary  for  the  support  of  government ;  but  they 
were  at  all  times  ready,  when  they  had  the  power,  to  resist  op- 
pression or  flagrant  encroachments  on  their  rights ;  and  now  it 
seemed  that  they  must  resist  their  oppressors,  or  be  trampled  on 
and  reduced  to  a  state  of  abject  submission.  Offices  were  mul- 
tiplied; and  throughout  all  the  grades  of  office  extortion  appears 
to  have  been  systematized  and  carried  to  the  greatest  possible 
extent.  The  people  had  long  remonstrated  and  complained 
through  their  representatives ;  but  could  get  no  redress.  Their 
complaints  had  reached  tlie  throne ;  and  the  governors  had  been 
instructed  once  and  again  to  prohibit  such  a  shameful  contempt 
of  law  and  abuse  of  pov/er.  Gov.  Dobbs,  in  consequence  of  his 
institutions,  ordered  in  17b'4,  the  last  year  of  his  admhiistration, 
that  a  table  of  fees  should  be  set  up  in  every  public  office  ;  but 
owing  to  his  example  and  his  imbeciUty,  any  such  efibrt  on  his 
part,  cither  to  correct  abuses  in  the  government  or  to  quell  the 
tunmlts  of  the  people,  was  perfectly  futile.  Governor  Tryon, 
having  received  similar  instructions,  issued  a  proclamation  for- 
bidding the  demand  of  illegal  fees  ;  but  it  is  perfectly  manifest 
that  neither  of  these  gentlemen  was  in  earnest  about  restraining 
the  mal-practices  in  question,  for  one  effectual  prosecution  would 
have  done  more  than  all  their  blustering  proclamations.  No 
such  thmg  was  attempted,  however ;  and  the  conduct  of  subal- 
tern officers,  was  in  fact  connived  At  by  the  men  who  were 
-sworn  to  administer  tiie  Government  faithfully,  and  to  whom  the 


LIFE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D.  107 

community  had  a  right  to  look  for  protection.  Tlie  people  ''were 
defrauded  by  the  clerks  of  the  several  courts,  by  the  recorders 
of  deeds,  by  entry  takers,  by  surveyors,  and  by  the  lawyers, 
every  man  demanding  twice  or  three  times  his  legal  fees;'"* 
and,  whenever  it  could  be  done,  about  double  the  amount  of 
legal  taxes  was  collected  by  the  sherifis.  Attempts  were  made 
to  obtain  relief  by  bringing  indictment  against  individual  officers 
in  the  civil  courts  ;  but  there  they  found  only  a  mockery  of  jus- 
tice. When  all  legal  means  of  redress  had  failed,  they  had  re- 
course to  an  expression  of  public  sentiment  by  holding  meetings 
in  diflerent  parts  of  the  country  for  the  purpose;  then  they  re- 
fused to  pay  illegal  taxes  or  fees ;  and  this  brought  about  an 
open  rupture  with  the  government. 

There  were  disturbances  of  this  kind,  before  the  passhig  of  the 
stamp  act  ;t  for  during  the  last  meeting  of  the  legislature  under 
the  administration  of  Dobbs,  accounts  reached  Wilmington  of 
serious  disturbances  ui  the  county  of  Orange,  the  cause  of  which 
was  stated  to  be,  the  exactions  of  the  clerks,  registers,  and  some 
of  the  attorneys,  in  requiring  illegal  and  exorbitant  fees ;  and 
amidst  the  excitement  on  account  of  the  stamp  act  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  these  disturbances  not  only  continued  in  Orange,  but 
had  spread  into  Granville.  In  June  of  this  year  a  paper,  under 
this  motto, 

"  Save  my  country,  heavens,  shall  be  my  last," 
And  entitled,  Ji  serious  address  to  the  people  of  Granville  coun- 
ti/,  containing  a  brief  narrative  of  our  deplorable  situation  and 
the  wrongs  we  suffer,  and  some  necessary  hints  ivith  respect  to 
a  reformation,  was  circulated  in  that  county  ;  and,  although  the 
writer  was  an  iUiterate  man,  being  written  with  clearness  and 
energy,  it  had  great  elTect.  The  excitement  on  account  of  the 
stamp  act  had  no  tendency  to  divert  the  minds  of  the  Regulators 
from  grievances  which  they  felt  more  at  present  than  the  other  ; 
and  therefore,  while  the  disturbances  continued  hi  Orange  and 
Granville  counties,  they  spread  during  this  time  into  Anson. f 
The  object  of  the  Regulators  and  of  those  who  resisted  the  intro- 
duction of  the  stamps  at  Wilmington  was  essentially  the  same; 

^Williamson,  vol.  2,  p.  I:i9.     fMartin,  vol.  2,  p.  101. 
t. Martin,  vol.  2,  p.  215, 


108  LIPE  OP  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

and  the  principal  difference  was  that,  while  the  latter  opposed  a 
single  measure,  the  former  aimed  at  a  reformation  of  all  abuses. 
Tiie  Regulators  applauded  those  who  so  manfully  resisted  the 
operation  of  the  stamp  act  at  Wilmington;  and  called  them,  by- 
way of  honorable  chstinction.  The  Sons  of  Liberty  ;  and  ma- 
jiy  of  this  party,  too,  it  is  said,  united  heartily  with  the  Regula- 
tors. 

Hitherto  the  neighborhood  meetings  had  served  onh/  to  keep 
alive-and  peThaps  to  extend  the  spirit  of  opposition  or  of  inqui- 
ry ;  but,  finding  that  greater  concert  of  action  and  more  regu- 
lar means  of  communication  were  necessary,  when  the  county 
court  of  Orange  was  in  session,  in  the  month  of  August,  1766, 
a  paper  addressed  to  the  representatives  and  magistrates  of  the 
county  was  presented  and  read.  This  is  said  to  have  been  the 
fa-st  ivriUeii  covuplaint  against  those  extortions  which  had  been 
so  long  and  so  extensively  practised ;  and  which  brought  re- 
proach not  only  on  the  court  and  the  bar,  but  on  tiie  governors 
and  all  or  most  of  those  who  acted  under  their  authority.  In 
order  that  great  good  might  come  out  of  that  which  was  de- 
signed as  a  great  evil,  the  stamp  law,  in  opposing  which  the 
Sons  of  Liberty  had  withstood  the  lords  of  parliament,  the  wri- 
ter thought  that  rulers  should  not  be  permitted  to  carry  on  op- 
pression in  the  province,  of  which  there  were  great  complaints 
among  the  inhabitants ;  that  the  evils  couipiained  of  gliould  be 
removed,  or  if  there  was  no  cause,  the  jealousies  ouglit  to  be 
removed  out  of  their  minds ;  and  honest  rulers  would  be  glad 
to  iiavc  this  matter  freely  examined ;  that  while  there  were 
more  honest  men  than  rogues  in  the  country,  rogues  were  har- 
bored among  them,  almost  publicly  ;  that  as  every  honest  man 
was  willing  to  give  part  of  his  substance  for  the  support  of  ru- 
lers and  laws,  it  was  his  duty  as  well  as  his  right  to  inquire 
whether  such  rulers  abused  their  trust,  otherwise  the  part  so 
given  might  do  more  harm  than  good ;  that  if  all  were  rogues 
they  could  not  subsist,  but  would  be  obliged  to  frame  laus  to 
make  themselves  honest ;  that  when  justice  is  desired  by  all,  or 
by  the  majority  of  men,  if  public  grievances  were  not  redressed 
il  uaisi  be  because  what  is  everybody's  business  is  nobody's  :  he 
therefore  proposed  that  each  neighborhood  in  the  county  should 


LIFE  OF  DAVIU    GALDWELL,  D.I).  109 

appoint  one  or  more  men  to  attend  a  general  meeting,  on  the 
Monday  before  the  next  November  court,  at  Maddock's  JVIills;^' 
or  some  place  where  there  was  710  liquor,  lor  the  purpose  of  in- 
quiring whetlier  the  freemen  of  the  county  were  laboring  un- 
der any  abuses  of  power  or  not ;  and  if  so,  they  should  be  sta- 
ted in  writing,  and  proper  measures  taken  for  their  correction. 
This  it  was  supposed  would  cause  the  wicked  men  in  power  to 
tremble,  wiiile  no  injury  could  result  from  such  a  meeting,  nor 
any  thing  hinder  the  benefit  of  it,  except  a  cowardly,  dastardly 
spirit,  which,  if  it  did  prevail  at  a  time  when  Hberty  was  begin- 
ning to  triumph,  they  must  remain  under  their  oppressions  un- 
til a  more  noble  spirit  might  prevail  in  their  posterity ;  and  the 
course  he  proposed  was  regarded  as  the  only  safe  one,  no  matter 
who  were  their  rulers ;  for  while  men  were  men,  if  even  the 
Sojis  of  Liberty  were  put  into  office  they  would  become  cor- 
rupt and  oppressive,  unless  they  were  called  upon  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  their  stewardship. 

The  Deep  river  settlement  appointed  W.  C.  and  \V.  M.  as 
delegates  to  attend  the  general  meeting  on  the  10th  of  October, 
at  Maddock's  mills,  with  a  written  certificate  of  their  appoijit- 
ment  and  instructions,  '^  to  examine  J udiciou.slt/  whether  the 
freemen  in  this  country  labor  under  any  abuses  of  power;  and 
in  particular  to  examine  into  Ihe  public  tax,  and  inform  them- 
selves of  every  particular  thereof,  by  what  laio  and  for  what 
uses  it  was  levied,  in  order  to  remove  some  jealousies  out  of  the 
people's  minds.  The  representatives,  vestrymen,  and  other  offi- 
cers were  requested  to  give  the  members  of  the  said  meeting 
what  information  and  satisfaction  they  could,  so  far  as  they  val- 
ued the  good  will  of  every  citizen,  and  the  executing  public  offi- 
ces pleasant  and  delightsome,"  All  this  was  nothing  more  than 
reasonable,  and  what  they  had  a  right,  as  British  subjects,  to 
expect ;  and  the  government  party  could  make  no  valid  objec- 
tion. AVluie  the  first  delegates  that  arrived  at  JNIaddock's  mills 
were  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  others.  Col.  P^'anning,  who  was 
particularly  odious  to  the  pleople,  sent  out  James  Watson  to 
denounce  or  forbid  the  meeting  ;t  but  they  proceeded  to  busi- 

*On  En's  between  tvvo  and  three  miles  west  from  Hillsborough. 
fJonci'  Defence  of  North  Carolina,  p.  40. 


no  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELJ.,  D.D 

iiess;  and  after  a  free  discussion,  it  was  resolved,  as  the  judg- 
ment of  the  meeting,  that  no  one  man  in  the  country,  owing  to 
its  great  extent,  being  known  to  more  than  one  tenth  of  the  in- 
habitants, such  a  meeting  for  pubHc  and  free  discussion,  yearly, 
or  as  often  as  the  case  miglit  require,  was  absolutely  necessary, 
in  order  to  reap  the  benefit  which  the  constitution  conferred  upon 
them,  of  choosing  their  representatives,  and  of  knowing  for  what 
uses  their  money  was  called  for;  and  that  no  representative 
could  possibly  answer  the  design  of  his  constituents  without  such 
opportunities  of  consulting  their  minds  in  matters  of  weight  and 
moment ;  that  as  none  of  the  representatives  or  government  offi- 
cers had  attended  that  meeting,  probably  from  their  not  having 
duly  considered  the  reasonableness  of  the  request,  if  they  were 
disposed  to  give  an  account  of  their  stewardship,  or  be  held  res- 
ponsible for  their  conduct  as  pubHc  servants,  they  should  have 
an  opportunity  at  some  other  tune  and  place  on  giving  proper 
notice.  A  copy  of  these  resolutions  was  given  to  Watson,  who 
expressed  his  approbation  of  it,  and  promised  to  furnish  each  of 
the  representatives  with  a  transcript ;  but  Col.  Fanning,  instead 
of  complying  witii  these  "reasonable  proposals,"  at  the  following 
court,  or  at  a  general  muster,  read  a  long  piece  of  writing  in 
public  and  among  the  justices,  in  repugnance  to  their  request, 
vaunting  himself  greatly  on  his  performances,  telling  them  that 
lie  had  served  the  Regulators  with  copies  of  it,  and  signified  that 
it  would  silence  them,  though  none  of  them  ever  saw  it  or  knew 
what  it  contained.  In  April  of  the  following  year  they  had  a 
meeting  at  the  same  place  ;  and  adopted  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions : 

"  We  the  subscribers  do  voluntarily  agree  to  form  ourselves 
into  an  association,  to  assemble  ourselves  for  conference  for  reg- 
ulating public  grievances  and  abuses  of  power,  in  the  following 
particulars,  with  others  of  the  like  nature  that  may  occur. 

1.  That  we  will  pay  no  more  taxes  until  we  are  satisfied  they 
are  agreeable  to  law,  and  applied  to  the  purposes  therein  men- 
tioned ;  unless  we  cannot  help  it,  or  are  forced. 

2.  That  we  will  pay  no  officer  any  more  fees  than  the  law  al- 
lows, unless  we  are  obliged  to  it ;  and  then  to  shew  our  dislike, 
andl!e;ir  an  o})en  testimony  agninsl  it. 


LtFE  OF  DAVJD  CALDWELL,  D.I).  1  1  1 

3.  Tliat  we  will  attend  our  meetings  of  conference  as  often  as 
we  conveniently  can,  and  is  nessary,  in  order  to  consult  our  rep- 
resentatives on  the  amendment  of  such  laws  as  may  be  found 
grievous  or  unnecessary  ;  and  to  choose  more  suitable  men  than 
we  have  done  heretofore  for  burgesses  and  vestrymen ;  and  to 
pethion  the  houses  of  assembly,  governor,  council,  king,  and 
parliament,  &c.  for  the  redress  of  such  grievances  as  in  the  course 
of  the  undertaking  may  occur ;  and  to  inform  one  another,  learn, 
know,  and  enjoy  all  the  privileges  and  liberties  that  are  allowed 
and  were  settled  on  us  by  our  worthy  ancestors,  the  founders  of 
our  present  constitution,  in  order  to  preserve  it  on  its  ancient 
foundation,  that  it  may  stand  firm  and  unshaken, 

4.  That  we  will  contribute  to  collections  for  defraying  neces- 
sary expenses  attending  the  work,  according  to  our  abilities. 

5.  That  in  case  of  difference  in  judgment,  we  will  submit  to 
the  judgment  of  the  majority  of  our  body. 

To  all  which  we  solemnly  swear,  or  being  a  Quaker  or  oth- 
erwise scrupulous  in  conscience  of  the  common  oath,  do  sol- 
emnly affirm,  that  we  will  stand  true  and  faithful  to  this  cause, 
till  we  bring  things  to  a  true  regulation,  according  to  the  true 
intent  and  meaning  hereof,  in  the  judgment  of  the  majority  of 
us." 

The  reader  may  be  ready  to  say  that  Iiere  was  the  very  spirit 
of  '76  ;  and  that  every  man  at  the  present  day  would  be  ready 
to  pledge  his  fife,  his  fortune,  and  his  sacred  honor  in  defence  of 
the  same  rights  and  principles ;  but  as  the  Regulators  had  now 
passed  the  Rubicon,  and  were  fairly  at  issue  with  the  govern- 
ment, it  is  necessary  to  bring  more  distinctly  into  view  the  pro- 
minent characters  on  both  sides,  and  the  actual  state  of  things 
over  the  country  at  that  time  ;  and  in  addition  to  the  common 
histories  of  the  country,  and  such  traditionary  or  verbal  testimo- 
nies as  appeared  worthy  of  credit,  there  are  two  accounts  in  my 
possession,  one  m  print  and  the  other  in  manuscript,  of  which  I 
shall  make  considerable  use.  The  first  is  a  communication 
which  was  made  some  years  ago,  in  a  paper  called  The  Weekly 
Times,  published  somewhere  in  Tennessee,  and  which  is  said  to 
have  been  written,  or  the  matter  furnished  by  a  man  who  had 
"been  a  Regulator  and  an  active  agent  in  the  whole  transaction, 


1  14  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALUVVELL,  D.D. 

until  the  closing  scene  ;  and  the  other  is  an  account  fuinisiied 
me  hy  Dr.  Mitchell  of  the  University,  which  he  obtained  in  July 
1819,  twenty-three  years  ago,  from  Joseph  JSIcPhcrson,  near 
Salem,  in  Stokes  county.  He  was  of  Scotch  descent  ;  but  was 
born  near  Wilmington.  In  1765  he  came  to  live  in  Chatham, 
and  found  that  the  Regulation  had  then  made  considerable  pro- 
gress in  that  county.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary 
war  lie  removed  into  Stokes  where  he  resided  until  his  death. — 
Having  been  in  the  Regidation  battle,  and  having  resided  in 
that  region  for  some  time  previous,  his  opportunities  were  good 
for  obtaining  a  correct  knowledge  of  facts ;  and  although  he  had 
some  eccentricities  or  peculiarities,  he  is  believed  to  have  been 
a  man  of  truth,  and  his  statements  worthy  of  credit.  It  is  always 
desirable  to  hear  both  sides  of  a  story;  but  in  this  case  we  have 
to  regret  that  hitherto  the  story  has  been  told,  in  any  thing  like 
an  authentic  or  regular  form,  only  by  one  side  ;  and  we  are  left 
to  gather  up  such  fragments,  often  of  doubtful  authenticity,  as 
have  not  yet  entirely  passed  into  the  long  dark  shadow  of  ob- 
Uvion. 

The  first  resolution  at  the  above  meeting  related  to  the  taxes  ; 
and  while  the  Regulators  avowed  their  willingness  to  pay  what- 
ever taxes  were  agreeable  to  lav/,  or  were  necessary  for  the 
support  of  government,  a  belief  on  their  part  is  implied,  not  only 
that  there  was  extravagance  or  a  useless  expenditure  of  public 
funds,  but  that  more  than  the  lawful  taxes  had  been  demanded 
by  the  sheritis,  and  that  there  was  generally  great  mismanage- 
ment in  the  financial  concerns  of  the  country.  The  legal  taxes 
were  very  heavy,  considering  the  circumstances  of  the  people, 
as  will  very  soon  appear.  Governor  Tryon,  in  a  communica- 
tion to  the  Regulators,*  dated  June  21st,  1768,  says,  '^  As  you 
want  to  be  satisfied  what  is  the  amount  of  the  tax  for  the  pub- 
lic service  for  1767, 1  am  to  inform  you,  it  is  seven  shilhngs  a 
taxable,  besides  the  county  and  parish  taxes."  By  an  act  pass- 
ed in  1764,  the  vestry  of  each  parish  were  authorized  to  lay  a 
])oll  tax  of  ten  shillings  on  every  taxable  inhabitant,  if  they 
thought  it   necessary  ;  and  there  was  also  a   tax  of  some  kind 

^^Villiampon,  vol.  2,  p.  207. 


LIFK  OF  DAViD  CALDWKLJ.,  D.D.  I  1  .» 

lor  destroying  vermin  ;*  but  whether  this  was  under  the  act  oj" 
1760,  for  that  purpose,  or  under  a  later  one,  I  have  not  examin- 
ed. These  being  poll  taxes  would  come  very  heaVy  on  the 
poor,  and  then  a  great  deal  more  was  often  collected  than  was 
due  ;  but  money  was  so  difficult  to  obtain  that  they  must  have 
been  felt  as  a  burden  by  most  people.  MacPherson  says,  "he 
went  with  his  father  to  Cross  creek,  now  Fayetteville,witli  a  load 
of  wheat,  40  bushels.  They  could  get  5  shillings  per  bushel  ; 
but  of  this  only  one  shilling  was  paid  in  money ;  or  they  could 
get  a  bushel  of  salt  for  a  bushel  of  wheat.  On  their  return  they 
had  40  shillings  in  cash  ;  and  were  able  to  pay  their  tax,  which 
was  more  than  any  other  man  in  the  settlement  could  do."  Sev- 
eral old  men  in  this  county  have  given  me  a  similar  account  of 
the  price  of  wheat  as  well  as  of  some  other  articles ;  and  they 
added  that  if  they  could  bring  home  40  shillings,  or  five  dollars 
in  money,  for  40  bushels  of  wheat,  they  thought  they  were  doing 
a  first  rate  business.  It  required  some  patience  to  bear  such  a 
burden  of  taxes  under  these  circumstances ;  and  especially  when 
a  large  portion  of  it  was  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  a  man,  like  go- 
vernor Tryon,  in  building  palaces,  and  in  doing  other  things 

*The  following  receipt  shows,  in  accordance  witii  Tryon's  letter  to  llie 
Reirulators  the  year  before,  the  amount  due  from  every  taxable  inhabitant  as 
a  poli  tax,  exclusive  ot  the  parish  tax,  which  might  be  as  high  as  ten  shillinea 
on  the  poll;  and  it  also  shews  that  some  tax  was  paid  for  dci^troying  noxious 
animals: — Received  of  the  Rev  Mr.  Caldwell, for  two  taxaldea,  fnnrteeti 
shillings  tax,  and  four  shillings  arid  eight  pence  for  scalps  for  the  year 
1769.— William  T.  Coles. 

In  1760  an  act  was  passed  requiring  every  master,  mistress,  or  overseer 
of  a  family,  to  kill  2  crows,  50  blackbirds,  and  5  squirrels  under  a  penalty  of 
two  shilling's  proclamation  money  for  every  2  crows,  two  shillings  for  every 
5r^  blackbirds  and  one  shilling-  for  every  5  squirrels.  Wiielher  the  4s.  8d.  m 
the  above  receipt  came  under  this  act  or  one  of  later  date  1  know  not ;  but  the 
country  so  abounded  then  with  wild  animals,  some  of  which  preyed  on  the 
grain  and  stock,  and  others  were  even  dangerous  to  the  inhabitants  them- 
selves, that  some  efTicient  measures  were  necessary  for  their  destruction. — 
In  proo*'  ol  this  latter  fact,  a  single  incident  will  suffice.  Soon  after  Dr. 
Caldwell  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine,  he  was  returning  one  night, 
at  a  late  hour,  from  a  visit  to  a  sick  child  in  the  neighborhood,  when  a  pack 
of  wolves,  attracted  probably  by  tlie  smell  of  the  assafcetida  or  other  medicines 
in  ills  saddlebags,  raised  the  howl  at  a  little  distance  behind,  and  wore  making- 
towards  him.  He  happened  to  have  no  svvifch,  and  coulfT  not  alight  to  pro- 
cure one,  lest  they  should  overtake  him  ;  but  with  his  characterii^tic  presence 
of  mind,  reaching  forward  he  instantly  pulled  the  bridle  off  his  iior.se,  and 
iisintr  that  for  a  whip,  went  at  full  speed  until  he  reached  his  house,  having' 
just  lime  to  get  through  the  gate  and  shut  it  on  them  before  ihey  came  uyf. 
1") 


1  14  LIFE  OF  J)AVII)  CALDWELL,  D.D 

quite  as  unnecessary  ;  yet  it  is  probable  that  the  people  would 
have  submitted  to  it  if  the  officers  had  been  honest,  and  had  de- 
manded no  more  taxes  and  fees  than  were  lawful.  It  is  to  be 
supposed  that  the  most  intelligent,  or  wealthy  and  influential 
class  were  not  imposed  on  as  others  were  by  the  officers  ;  but 
that  the  sheriffs,  whenever  they  could  do  it,  demanded  a  great 
deal  more  than  the  amount  required  by  law  is  confirmed  by  the 
Imiform  tradition  of  the  country  as  well  as  by  history  ;  and  they 
were  at  length  obliged  to  acknowledge  some  dishonesty ;  for  in 
March,  1771,  they  made  arrangements  to  restore  all  that  they 
liad  taken  unjustly.  It  was  then  too  late  however  "to  prevent 
the  consequences  of  their  iniquity  ;  and  to  them  must  be  attribu- 
ted in  part  the  calamities  which  followed. 

The  clerks  of  the  courts  were  guilty  in  the  same  way ;  but  to 
a  much  greater  extent.  Thomas  Frohawk  in  Salisbury,  and  Ed 
rnund  Fanning  in  Hillsborough,  were  clerks  of  the  Superior 
Courts  in  their  respective  counties  ;  and  had  become  exceeding- 
ly obnoxious  to  the  people  by  their  extortions ;  but  of  the  char- 
acter and  conduct  of  the  latter  my  information  is  more  ample  and 
more  authentic.  "  Fanning  was  from  the  North;  and  it  is  be- 
lived,  from  Long  Island.  Frohawk  was  a  bachelor  and  died 
very  rich.  Itjs^said  that  he  charged  §1 5  for  a  marriage  license  ; 
and  the  consequence  w^s~tFat"some:-.of  the  inhabitants  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  Yadkin  took  a  short  cut.  They  took  each 
other  for  better  or  for  worse ;  and  considered  themselves  as 
married  without  any  further  ceremony."  This  is  all  the  infor- 
mation I  have  had  respecting  Frohawk  ;  but  the  extortions 
practised  in  Rowan  must  have  been  similar  to  those  practised 
in  Orange  ;  for  the  disturbances  on  this  account  appear  to  have 
been  nearly  as  great  in  the  former  as  in  the  latter.  It  seems,  at 
first  view,  incredible  that  the  clerk  should  demand  vSlSfora 
marriage  license  ;  and  yet  it  is  not  more  incredible  than  that  he 
sliould  demand  half  that  amoimt,  or  any  thing  more  than  the 
lawful  fee.  There  were  not  many  who  knew  what  was  the  le- 
gal fee  for  that  or  any  thing  else  ;  and  then  the  expenses  of  go- 
ing to  law  were  so  great  in  the  way  of  fees  &c.,  that  fcAver  still 
could  obtain  justice  in  that  way.  Besides  the  judges  were  not 
dis])osed  to  enforce  the  laws  against  officers  or  members  of  the 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  1  15 

court ;  and  whether  a  man  gained  a  suit  or  not,  however  just, 
depended  very  much  on  the  weight  of  his  purse  or  on  his  stand- 
ing and  influence  in  society.  At  least  it  was  so  in  Orange,  as 
we  shah  shew  presently,  especially  when  any  one  who  was  at- 
tached to  the  court  was  concerned  ;  and  we  presume  it  was  so 
in  the  other  counties,  for  the  same  judges  presided  in  all  the  dis- 
tricts ;  and  people  who  were  in  moderate  circumstances,  or  witli- 
out  influence  would  make  any  sacrifices  or  sufler  loss  to  almost 
any  amount  rather  tiian  go  to  law  in  such  cases.  Fanning  was 
a  lawyer,  a  colonel  of  the  county,  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court, 
and  register.  The  legal  fee  for  recording  a  DEED  was  one  dollar, 
which,  considering  the  ditference  oetween  the  value  of  money 
then  and  now,  would  be  more  than  double  the  present  fee ;  but 
he  made  the  people  over  the  country  pay  four  or  five  times  that 
amount.  This  is  only  a  specimen  of  his  extortions,  which  it  is 
said  were  practised  on  the  same  scale  in  his  other  oftices,  when- 
ever it  could  be  done  ;  and  in  this  course  he  was  protected  by 
the  com-t. 

A  people  who  have  been  religiously  educated,  as  a  majoiity 
of  the  Regulators  had  been,  and  who  have  been  taught  to  regard 
tlie  Bible  as  a  revelation  from  heaven,  are  not  apt  to  rise  at  once 
in  open  rebellion  against  the  estabhshed  government,  or  bid  de- 
fiance to  the  regularly  constituted  authorities  of  the  land.  This 
is  the  work  of  lime  and  reflection.  There  must  be  consultation 
and  inquiry  into  facts  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  their  own 
consciencies  and  of  justifymg  themselves  before  the  world  :  there 
will  be  some  regard  to  the  voice  of  reason  ;  some  efforts  will  be 
made  to  obtain  a  redress  of  grievances  without  the  hazard  and 
sutferings  attending  a  conflict  with  "  the  powers  that  be  ;"  and 
then  they  must  have  mutual  encouragement  and  mutual  pledges 
of  fidelity  and  support.  This  is  just  what  we  find  in  the  men 
whose  principles  and  conduct  are  now  under  consideration;  and 
it  does  not  appear  that  hitherto  they  had  as  a  body  made  any 
direct  resistance  to  the  operations  of  government.  Fanning  and 
others,  who  had  in  the  same  way  become  obnoxious  to  the  peo- 
ple, were  made  tiie  subjects  of  ridicule  or  of  merriment  by  the 
wits  and  wags  of  the  day  ;  and,  as  is  usual  in  sucJi  cases,  carica- 


I 


110  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWEiL,  D.D. 

tures  and  pasquinades  abounded.*  The  meeting  at  Haddock's 
mills,  as  we  have  seen,  resolved  that  they  would  pay  no  more 
illegal  taxes,  unless  they  were  forced ;  that  they  would  pay  no 
more  exorbitant  fees  to  officers,  except  by  compulsion,  and  that 
they  would  bear  an  open  testimony  against  it ;  that  they  would 
hold  frequent  meetings  for  conference,  which  they  would  request 
their  representatives  to  attend  for  the  purpose  of  giving  them 
information  respecting  what  was  done  in  the  legislature,  and  of 
consulting  together  about  the  measures  that  ought  to  be  adopt- 
ed for  the  common  welfare;  that  they  would  select  more  suita- 
ble men  for  the  various  otEcesin  the  gift  of  the  people;  that  they 
would  petition  the  assembly,  governor,  council,  king  and  par- 
liament, for  redress  of  their  grievances;  that  they  would  contri- 
bute to  collections  for  defraying  whatever  expenses  might  be 
necessary  in  this  undertaking ;  that  whenever  a  difference  of 
opinion  might  arise  they  would  submit  to  the  majority  ;  and  as 
a  pledge  of  their  fidelity  in  the  performance  of  these  things  they 
bound  tliemselves  by  an  oath  or  affirmation.  In  all  this  we  see 
nothing  but  the  principles  and  spirit  which  covered  the  patriots 
of '76  with  immortal  honor;  and  only  because  they  were  bet- 
rcT  sustained,  had  more  ample  resources,  and  were  more  success- 
ful. 

As  complaints  and  petitions  were  found  unavailing;  and  as 
the  expenses  attending  a  lawsuit  were  too  great  for  any  one 
man,  their  contributions  were  made  for  this  purpose.  The  meet- 
ing at  Maddock's  mills,  winch  adopted  the  resolution,  contribu- 
ted fifty  pounds  ;t  and  whether  any  prosecutions  were  com- 
menced immediately  I  have  not  learned ;  but  some  time  after, 

*Soine  fragments  of  the  poeiic  effusions  then  common  in  the  country  are 
here  o^iven  a?  matters  ofcuriosity ;  and  a?  shewing  the  manner  and  spirit  of 
the  times.  Tlie  tbllnwing,  MacPherson  says  he  heard  sung  at  a  wedding 
when  lie  first  came  into  Chatham,  in  1765;  and  belore  he  knew  any  thing  of 
the  individual  to  whom  it  refers: 

"  When  Fanning  first  to  Orange  came 

He  looked  both  pale  and  wan. 

An  old  patched  coat  npon  his  back 

An  old  nnre  lie  rode  on 

Both  man  and  mare  wa'nt  worth  five  pounds 

As  I've  been  often  told 

But  by  his  civil  robberies 

He's  laced  his  coat  with  gold." 
jJanes's  Defence,  p.  4'2. 


LIFE  OF  PAVIU    CALDWELL,  D.l).  117 

when  an  opportunity  occurred  which  they  supposed  to  be  a  fa- 
x'orable  one,  Fanning  was  indicted  for  extortion  in  six  cases.* 
He  was  found  guihy  in  all,  notwithstanding  the  partiality  of  the 
court ;  and  was  fined,  in  each  case,  one  penny,  with  costs  ;  but 
being  what  was  called  "a  pretty  smart  lawyer,"  he  pleaded  his 
own  cause,  and  being  clerk  of  the  court  he  did  Ms  own  writing ; 
so  that  he  had  little  or  no  costs  to  pay.  With  such  encourage- 
ment from  the  court  he  continued  his  extortions  ;  and  no  wonder 
"  he  laced  his  coat  with  gold."  It  has  been  seen  that  the  gov- 
ernor, soon  after  he  was  inducted  into  office,  issued  a  proclama- 
tion forbidding  the  officers  to  take  unlawful  fees ;  and  he  gave 
the  Regulators  assurance  in  other  wa.ys  that  their  grievances 
should  be  redressed  ;  but  here  was  proof  that,  notwithstanding 
the  oaths  of  office  and  the  pledges  of  honor,  nothing  like  justice 
was  to  be  expected.  Fanning  was  a  favorite  with  the  governor; 
and  for  his  emolument  thousands  must  be  oppressed,  the  claims 
of  justice  disregarded,  and  the  rights  of  humanity  contemned.  ' 

In  1770  he  chartered  Hillsborough,  or  gave  it  the  right  of  send-  % 

ing  a  member  to  the  assembly ;  and  his  object  was  to  secure  a 
seat  for  Fanning,t  who  had  become  too  odious  to  be  elected  for 
the  county.  He  had  been  a  member  for  two  years  previous,  as 
representative  of  the  county ;  but,  MacPherson  says,  he  owed 
his  election  to  the  sheriff,  Thos.  Hart,  to  whom  he  promised  a 
reward  if  he  would  get  him  elected  ;  and  when  he  took  his  seat 
he  brought  in  a  bill,  and  had  it  passed,  for  giving  Hart  one  thou- 
sand pounds,  on  account  of  his  losses  as  sheriff,  when  in  fact  he 
had  lost  nothing  :  so  said  the  Regulators  ;  and  they  complained 
that  in  this  way,  their  money,  or  a  great  deal  of  it,  had  gone.  It 
being  a  prominent  object  of  the  Regulators  in  their  associations 
to  assist  each  other  in  becoming  acquainted  with  the  legislative 
proceedings,  and  with  the  conduct  of  the  government  officers, 
they  procured  a  copy  of  the  laws,  by  which  it  was  manifest  that 
the  officers  demanded  unlawful  fees  ;  and  by  calculations,  as  to 
the  amount  of  taxes  raised,  &c.,  they  concluded  that  a  great  deal 
more  had  been  paid  into  the  treasury  than  was  fairly  accounted 
for ;  and  they  naturally  supposed  it  must  have  been  employed 
by  the  men  in  office  to  enrich  themselves  or  tiieir  friends ;  and 
nVilliamson,  vol.  2,  p.  137.    fMartin,  vol.  2,  p.  2G5. 


118  LIFK    OF  DAVID  CAldWElL,  D.D. 

tiiey  exclaimed  against  paying  any  more  taxes  unless  they  knew 
how  their  money  was  expended. 

That  there  were  no  unprincipled  and  reckless  men  among 
the  Regulators,  or  that  things  were  not  done  which  were  highly 
censurable,  even  in  their  circumstances,  will  not  be  pretended ; 
for  to  expect  any  thing  else  would  be  to  suppose  that  they  were 
superior  to  all  other  people.  The  most  enli2;htened,  refined,  and 
moral  community,  when  wronged,  insulted  and  goaded  on  to 
desperation,  as  they  were,  will  breakover  the  strict  rules  of  pro- 
priety and  do  things  which  they  themselves  cannot  but  regret 
afterwards.  There  may  have  been  some  acts  of  violence  on 
the  part  of  individuals  or  small  companies,  before  the  indictments 
were  brought  against  Fanning ;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  the 
deisign  of  the  prominent  men  to  avoid  or  restrain  such  proceed- 
ings, at  least  until  all  peaceful  measures  had  been  tried.  In  1767 
associations  had  been  formed,  not  only  in  Granville  and  Orange, 
but  in  Anson,  Bladen,  Mecklenburgh,*  and  on  the  west  side  of 
Haw  river,t  including,  if  I  mistake  not,  what  are  now  Guilford 
and  Randolph  counties ;  and  they  appear  to  have  been  proceed- 
ing with  regularity,  though  with  resolution  and  confi'dence. 
They  had  a  meeting  in  Orange,  probably  at  Maddock's  mills, 
April  4 Ui, .1.768,  at  v\Hiich  they  appointed  two  persons  who  were 
directed  to  calfoiV  the  two  late  sheriffs  and  the  vestrymen  with 
a  request  that  they  would  meet  twelve  deputies  from  the  general 
meeting  on  the  Tuesday  after  the  next  county  court,  and  pro- 
duce to  them  their  accounts.  |  But  the  sheriffs  and  vestrymen 
it  seems  were  not  willing  that  their  official  conduct  should  be 
submitted  to  any  such  scrutiny  ;  for  before  the  two  men  could 
giVe  them  the  notice,  some  of  the  sherifls'  deputies  took  by  way 
of  distress,  a  mare,  saddle,  and  bridle,  and  carried  them  to  Hills- 
borough ;  but  they  were  followed  by  a  party  of  sixty  or  seventy 
men,  who  rescued  the  mare;  and  then,  marching  to  Fanning's 
house,  they  fired  a  few  shots  at  the  roof  of  it,  to  let  him  know 
tliat  they  regarded  him  as  the  principal  cause  of  the  disturbance. 
Such  is  Martin's  account  of  this  transaction;  but  some  very  aged 
men,  of  great  respectability,  have  told  me  that  the  mare,  with 
tlie  trappings,  was  sold  for  the  man's  tax,  four  or  five  dollars ; 

*M.ntiii,  vol.  2,  p.  228.     +Martin,  vok-:2.  p.  2:«.     t  Martin,  vol  2,  p.  2^. 


LIFK  OF  l)AVir>  CALDVVKM-,  D.U.  U  f* 

and  that  one  of  the  officers  bought  the  whole  for  that  amount. 
The  Regulators  went  and  paid  the  money,  then  look  the  prop- 
erty, and  gave  it  back  to  the  owner. 

Probably  the  above  transaction  produced  some  alarm  ;  for 
the  minister  of  the  parish  having  undertaken  to  give  the  notice 
which  the  committee  of  two  had  been  appointed  to  give,  soon 
reported  that  the  sheriffs  and  vestrymen  would  attend,  as  re- 
quested, on  the  20th  of  May.  In  consequence  of  this  informa- 
tionthe  Regulators  met  on  the  30th  of  April,  and  twelve  deputies 
were  chosen  ;  but  before  the  day  appointed,  the  governor,  hav- 
ing heard  of  the  disturbances,  sent  David  Edwards  with  a  proc- 
lamation summoning  the  Regulators  to  disperse,  and  calling  on 
the  officers  of  the  province  to  assist  the  sheriff  in  suppressing 
tiie  insurrection.  As  the  Regulators,  after  their  late  meeting, 
had  quietly  returned  to  their  homes,  the  sheriff,  availing  himself 
of  the  advantage  thus  afforded,  took  with  him  a  party  of  thirty 
horsemen,  well  armed,  and  riding  through  the  country  to  tlie 
distance  of  fifty  miles,  took  two  of  them,  Harmon  Husband 
and  William  Hunter,  whom  he  brought  to  Hillsborough  and 
confined  in  jail.  These  were  both  prominent  men  among  tlic 
Regulators;  but  of  the  latter  I  know  nothing,  and  of  the  for- 
mer, not  much.  It  is  generally  said  that  he  was  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  that  he  was  raised  a  Quaker.  When  he  came  to 
this  country,  he  was  a  public  speaker  of  high  standing  in  that 
society  ;  but  at  the  period  under  consideration  he  was  not  in 
connexion  with  them,  owing  to  some  disagreement  which  had 
taken  place  between  him  and  some  of  their  leading  men.  He 
lived  on  Sandy  Creek,  ia  wliat.  is  now  Randolph  county,  and 
was  in  good  circumstances ;  for  he  must  have  owned  some  three 
thousand  acres,  more  or  less,  of  very  valuable  land.  The  tra- 
dition of  his  old  neighborhood  says  that  he  was  some  relation 
of  Dr.  Franklin  ;  and  that  the  two  maintained  at  this  time  a 
kind  of  verbal  correspondence  by  means  of  a  Mr.  Wilcox,  who 
set  up  the  first  store  in  Fayetteville,  and  who  carried  messages 
from  one  to  the  other,  when  he  went  every  half  year  to  Phila- 
delphia for  goods  ;  but  that  they  never  corresponded  in  writing, 
for  fear  of  detection.  MacPherson,  who  hved  for  some  time 
with  Wilcox,  after  he  set  up  an  iron  furnace  in  Chatham,  makes 


120  l.IFK  OK  DAVU)  GALD\VE.LL.  D.D 

the  same  statement ;  and  there  was  probably  soine  truth  in  it. 
These  things,  though  not  authentic,  nor  of  any  great  importance 
in  themselves,  are  worth  knowing,  as  they  throw  some  hght  on 
the  history  of  tliat  period.  It  is  also  said  that  Franklin  used  to 
send  Husband  pamphlets  by  Wilcox ;  and  tliat  when  they  ar- 
rived they  were  distributed  over  the  country  by  Husband,  who 
some  times  had  them  copied  and  republished  under  his  own 
name.  This  was  particularly  the  case  with  regard  to  a  pamph- 
let of  FrankUn's,  entiled  "State  Affairs,"  which  is  said  to  have 
been  republished  by  Husband  under  the  title  of  "  Sermons  to 
Asses."  It  was  moreover  believed  that  both  Franklin  and  Hus- 
band had  in  view  at  that  time  a  separation  from  Great  Britain, 
though  the  latter  did  not  then  communicate  his  project  to  his 
associates  ;  and  this  opinion  is  supposed  to  be  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  when  some  Carolinians,  who  were  attached  to  Hus- 
band and  his  party,  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  were  con- 
fined in  Staunton,  Virginia,  they  or  some  one  of  them  said  that 
Husband  visited  them  and  told  them  that  the  revolutionary 
struggle  then  going  on,  was  what  he  intended  at  the  time  of  the 
Regulation.  *  The  testimony  of  MacPherson,  of  which  so 
much  use  is  here  made  only  because  it  is  more  full  and  explicit 
than  any  other  of  the  kind  that  I  have  seen  or  heard,  and  which 
he  says  he  got  from  Wilcox,  while  he  was  engaged  with  him  in 
his  iron  establishment,  is  sustained  by  the  traditions  of  the  coun- 
try, except  in  relation  to  the  re-publication  of  Franklin's  pamph- 
lets by  Husband,  of  which  this  is  the  only  account  that  has  come 
to  my  knowledge. 

Although  wanting  the  advantages  of  education,  Harmon  Hus- 
band was  certainly  a  man  of  superior  mind  ;  and  he  was  much 
given  to  reading  and  reflection.  He  was  very  grave  in  his  de- 
portment, and  had  usually  all  that  reserved  and  cautious  man- 
ner of  expressing  himself  in  conversation,  for  which  the  people 
of  the  Quaker  society  are  remarkable  ;  but  when  animated  he 

"'•From  the  pamphlets  which  were  puhli«Iicd  about  this  time,  and  even 
some  years  earlier,— such,  for  example,  as  the  one  entitled  :  The  Iiiterrsls  of 
Great  lirittiin  wilh  regard  to  her  Colonics — it  appears  that  the  thoii<iht  ot 
Independence  was  revolved  in  more  minds  than  those  ot  Ben.  Franklin  and 
llarmon  Husb,;nd,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  too:  and  while  it  was  drea- 
ded there,  it  was  cherished  liere. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CAhhWULJL,  D.B.  121 

could  speak,  in  public  or  private,  with  sufficient  fluency,  and 
witli  a  great  deal  ot'  force.  Ke  has  oeen  generally  represented 
by  historians  as  a  man  of  a  turbulent  and  seditious  character ; 
as  an  arch  demagogue  ;  and  as  possessing  all  the  craft  and  cun- 
ning of  the  Jesuit ;  but  it  is  strange  that  a  writer  who  thus 
speaks  of  him  in  one  sentence,  should  say  of  him  in  the  next 
that  he^ lived  in  a  country  where  the  exercise  of  those  qualities 
were  not  only  excusable,  but  frequently  indhpensible,  as  a 
means  of  redress  foi^  outrage  and  wrong-  ;  and  that  he  induc- 
ed tiie  discontented  and  oppressed  to  unite  in  a  general  and  sys- 
tematic opposition  to  the  operations  of  tin^  government  by  which 
they  were  oppressed^the  very  thing  that  was  done  in  the  Rev- 
olution. Sucii  were  the  representations  of  liis  enemies  or  of  the 
government  parly,  and  historians  seem  to  have  copied  them 
without  sufficient  inquiry  or  making  the  proper  allowance ;  but 
those  wiio  were  personally  acquainted  with  Mm  and  knew  him 
best,  give  him  a  different  character.  .  When  people  find  that  they 
have  been  deceived  by  a  man  who  has  courted  their  favor  mere- 
ly for  some  selfish  end,  th^y  usually  turn  against  him ;  but  this 
was  not  the  case  with  the  people  v/hom  he  represented.  The 
writer  in  the  Weekly  Times  says,  "  He  was  one  of  tliose  inde- 
pendent Quakers  who  v/as  educated  in  the  honest  school  of  Will- 
iam Penn,  and  refused  to  pull  off  his  hat,  and  bow  before  the 
minions  of  despotism.  In  consequence  of  which  he  shared  the 
contempt  of  the  governor  ;  but  the  frowns  of  pov/er  could  nev- 
er drive  him  from  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duty  to  his 
constituents."  I  have  conversed  with  a  number  who  knew  him 
personally  and  intimately  in  their  youth,  as  they  were  his  neigh- 
bors, some  of  whom  are  yet  living ;  and  they  all  speak  of  him 
as  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  and  as  a  firm  and  sincere  advocate 
of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  rights  of  mankind.  His  energy  of 
character,  inflexibility  of  purpose,  and  indignation  at  the  wrongs 
which  he  and  others  were  enduring,  may  have  led  him  in  some 
cases  to  do  things  which'  were  unjustifiable  or  imprudent;  but  I 
have  never  heard  those  who  were  well  acquainted  with  him 
impeach  his  motives. 

It  has  been  generally  said  that  he  was  the  soul  of  the  Regula- 
tion; but  this  does  not  appear  to  be  sustained  by  facts;  for  the 
16 


123  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

disturbances,  as  they  were  called,  commenced  in  Granville  as 
early  as  they  did  in  Orange,  if  hot  a  little  earlier  ;  but  they  had 
progressed  in  both  these  counties  for  some  time  before  his  name 
is  mentioned.  Having  engaged  in  the  cause  with  a  great  deal 
of  ardor,  his  superior  intelligence  and  firmness  made  him  of 
course,  a  prominent  man.  Being  enabled  by  his  circumstances 
to  do  it,  he  procured,  among  other  sources  of  information,  a  copy 
of  the  laws ;  and  read  them  to  the  people  in  their  neighborhood 
meetings,  or  wherever  opportunity  offered,  from  which  it  was 
manifest  that  exorbitant  fees  were  demanded  by  the  otRcers. — 
He  drew  up  the  paper  which  was  read  before  Hillsborough 
court,  in  August,  1766  ;  the  resolutions  which  were  adopted  by 
the  meeting  at  Maddock's  mills ;  and  most  of  the  petitions  and 
papers  of  every  description  that  were  needed  by  the  Regula- 
tors in  his  own  county.  Whether  his  influence  has  been  over- 
rated or  not,  he  certainly  had  the  confidence  of  the  people  to  a 
very  great  extent ;  for  as  soon  as  it  was  known  that  he  was  im- 
prisoned in  Hillsborough,  the  whole  country  rose  en  masse,  and 
marched  down,  for  his  rescue,  under  Ninian  Bell  Hamilton,  an 
old  Scotchman,  60  or  70  years  of  age.  Husband  had  been  lib- 
erated before  they  arrived  ;*  for  his  enemies  dreaded  the  conse- 
quences of  detaining  him  until  his  friends  could  rally  their  for- 
ces ;  and  they  took  this  plan  of  laying  him  under  some  moral 
obhgation,  as  they  supposed,  while  they  had  him  in  their  power, 
and  of  mollifying  the  resentment  of  the  people.  The  condi- 
tions of  his  release  were  that  "he  should  never  give  his  opinion 
of  the  laws,  nor  frequent  assembling  of  himself  among  the  peo- 
ple, nor  shew  any  jealousy  of  the  officers  taking  extraordi- 
nary fees,  and  others  of  a  similar  kind."t  This  was  an  impli- 
ed acknowledgement  of  their  guilt  and  of  his  weight  of  char- 
acter ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  they  ever  submitted  to  a  fair  in- 
vestigation of  their  official  conduct.  Hamilton  and  his  men 
posted  themselves  at  a  short  distance  from  Hillsborough,  on  the 
south  side'  of  Eno,  where  they  were  joined  by  Husband  and 
Hunter  ;  and  Isaac  Edwards,  who  had  not  yet  returned  to  New- 
bern,  having  rode  up  towards  tliem,  read  the  governor's  procla- 
mation, informing  them  that  he  was  directed  to  assure  them,  on 
■"'.Toncs's  Defence,  p.  3.5.    fMartin,  vol.  2,  p.  2.34. 


LIFE  OP  UAVIl)    CALDWELL,  D.D.  123 

behalf  of  the  governor,  that,  on  appUcation  to  hhn,  he  would 
redress  their  grievances  and  protect  them  from  the  extortion  and 
oppression  of  any  officer,  provided  they  would  disperse  and  go 
home.  They  all  cried  out  at  once,  agreed,  agreed;  and  they  imme- 
diately separated.  This  did  not  look  like  they  were  an  unprin- 
cipled mob,  or  that  they  deserved  the  censure  which  has  been 
heaped  upon  them ;  and  if  the  governor  had  faithfully  and 
promptly  fulfilled  his  promises,  we  presume  there  would  have 
been  no  more  trouble. 

When  the  Regulators  first  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Eno, 
it  is  said  that  Fanning  went  down,  with  a  bottle  of  rum  in  one 
hand,  and  a  bottle  of  wine  in  the  other,  entreating  Hamilton  not 
to  bring  his  men  into  the  town,  but  send  a  horse  to  take  him 
across,  that  they  might  talk  about  matters  in  good  humor.  The 
old  Scotchman,  however,  told  him  that  he  was  none  too  good 
to  wade  ;*  and  that  if  he  had  any  business  with  them,  he  might 
bring  himself  over  the  best  way  he  could.  Fanniiig  waded  the 
stream ;  but  when  he  got  there  Hamilton  would  not  permit  the 
men  to  taste  either  his  rum  or  his  wine  ;  and  when  the  assurance 
was  given  them  by  Edwards  that  their  wrongs  should  be  re- 
dressed, they  separated  and  quietly  returned  to  their  homes. 

On  the  21st  of  May  the  Regulators  held  another  general  meet- 
ing, at  which  a  communication  was  receivi'd  Vom  tbe  Regula- 
tors in  Anson  county,  oli'i  ring  their  co-o;..eruiion  m  such  meas- 
ures as  might  be  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  relief,  and 
desiring  information  as  to  the  manner  in  which  their  proceedings 
had  been  conducted.  A  committee  v/as  ap[)ointed  to  return  a 
suitable  answer,  and  give  the  necessary  information.  Accord- 
ing to  the  prmiary  intention  of  this  meeting,  and  relying  on  the 
promise  of  Edwards,  the  governor's  messenger,  they  appointed 

*0n  this  occasion  some  one  made  a  song  of  eight  verses,  two  of  which  aro 
here  given  merely  as  a  specimen. 

5.  At  length  their  head  man  they  sent  out, 
To  save  their  town  from  tire : 

To  see  Ned  Fanning  wade  Eno, 
Brave  boys  you'd  all  admire. 

6.  With  hat  in  hand,  at  our  command,. 
To  salute  us  eveiy  one,  sir. 

And  alter  that  keptoff'his  hat, 
To  salute  old  Hamilton,  sir. 


124  LIFE  ©F  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D 

a  committee  to  wait  on  his  excellency,  and  lay  their  grievances 
hefore  him.  A  short  address  was  drawn  up  fn  which  they  made 
solemn  professions  of  loyalty  to  the  king,  and  of  strong  attach- 
ment to  the  established  government ;  the  committee  were  directed 
to  implore,  in  the  most  submissive  manner,  the  forgiveness  of  the 
governor,  for  any  errors  of  theirs  which  might  derogate  from  the 
honor  of  the  crown,  or  tend  to  subvert  peace  and  good  order ; 
and  for  the  information  of  the  governor  the  committee  were  fur- 
nished with  copies  of  the-pxoceedings  at  all  tlie  different  meetings 
Avhich  had  been  held.  From  this  it  would  seem  that  they  were 
not  a  set  of  desperadoes,  or  a  reckless  mob,  destitute  alike  of  in- 
telligence and  principle,  drawn  together  either  by  some  indefina- 
ble impulse,  or  by  the  arts  of  some  aspij-ing  demagogue,  com- 
plaining of  injuries  without  any  just. cause,  and  seeking  redress 
of  imaginary  grievances ;  for  thus  far,  there  appears  to  have 
been  as  much  regularity  in  the  mauagement  of  their  public 
meetings,  and  as  much  reason  and  propriety  hi  tlieir  petitions  to 
the  governor,  and  in  the  measures  adopted  for  obtaining  relief, 
as  in  similar  meetings  at  the  present  day. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  James  Hanterand  Redifap  Howel, 
on  behalf  of  the  committee,  waited  on  Go^'ernor  Tiyon  at 
Brunswick,  with  the  address  of  the  general  rheeting,and  copies 
of  the  proceedings  at  tiiat  and  all  I'-eir  previou'^  meetings. — 
These  papers  were  laid  before  the  council;  and  by  the  advice 
of  that  body  he  wrote  them  a  letter,  dated,  Brnnsivick,  June 
2\st,  1768;  bijt.  instead  of  removing  the  cause^of  complaint 
with  despatch  and  firmness,  as  he  had  promised,  arid  as  an  ex- 
ecutive officer  ought  to  have  done,  he  told  them  that  the  power 
and  authority  which  they  had  assumed  to  themselves  of^calliiig 
public  officers  to  account,  were  unconstitutional ;  that  the  ex- 
actions and  oppressions  of  the  county  register  and  other  public 
officers,  of  which  they  complained,  were  only  pretended  griev- 
ances ;  that  the  measures  which  they  had  adopted  for  obtahiing 
redress,  by  insulting  public  officers,  or  resisting  them  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duty,  if  they  liad  been  carried  a  little  further, 
would  have  been  denominated,  and  must  have  been  treated  as 
liigh  treason,  involving  themselves  with  their  families  in  ruin' 
and  destruction  ;  that  these  calamities,  he  trusted,  were  now  re- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  ]25 

moved  by  the  timely  proclamation  which  he  had  sent  to  them 
by  his  secretary,  and  by  their  prudent  d,etermination  to  petition 
him  in  council  for  a  redress  of  their  grievances;  that  the  elis- 
creet  and  steady  behaviour  of  Col.  Fanning,  and  of  the  officers 
and  men  under  his  command,*  had  not  only  met  with  the  entire 
approbation  of  hin,iself  and  council,  but  would  ever  be  acknowl- 
edged with  gratitude  by  every  well  wisher  to  the  province  ;  that 
altliough  their  understandings  had  been  run  away  with,  and 
their  passions  had  been  led  into  captivity,  by  some  evil  design- 
ing men,  who,  actuated  by  cowardice  and  a  sense  of  that  public 
justice  which  was  due  to  their  crimes,  had  obscured  themselves 
from  public  view,  yqt  as  they  had  determined  to  abide  by  his 
decisions  in  council,  it  was  his  direction  that  they  should  hence- 
forward desist  from  any  further  meetings,  either  by  verbal  ap- 
pointment or  advertisement ;  that  ail  titles  of  Regulators  or  As-, . 
sociators  should  cease,  and  that  the  sheriff  and  other  officen?*^ 
should  be  permitted  to  execute  the  duties  of  their  respective  offi- 
ces without  molestation  ;  that  all  branches  of  the  peace  must  be 
examined  and  determined  in  due  course  of  law  ;  that  this  was 
the  extent  of  what  he  had  authorized  Mr.  Edwards  to  declare  to 
them*bn  his  b^alf,  in  a  strict  -and  punctual  adherence  to  which 
directions  they  could  hope  for  any  further  clemency  on  his  part ; 
that  as  he  was  willing  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  distress,  the  just 
complaiiits  of  his  majesty's  subjects,  and  the  hardships  they 
migtit  groan  under,  he  would  give  his  majesty's  attorney  gene- 
ral orders  to  prosecute  every  offic<?r  who  had  been  guilty  of  ex- 
tortion or  illegal  practices  in  his  office,  upon  any  application  or 
intbrn?3.tion  by  the  parties  injured,  or  any  others  who  might  be 
aiithoriz' d  to  prosecute  on  their  behalf;  and  that  he  would  be 
up  at  Millsborougii  himself  in  the  begining  of  the  next  month, 
when  he  hoped  to  see  industry  prevaihng  over  faction,  and 
peace  and  harmony  triumphing  over  jealousies  and  murmuring. 

While  this  vacillating  or"  tiemporizing  course  of  the  governor 
was  discreditable  to  him,  it  \vas  tantalizing  and  provoking  to  the 
Regulators.  He  had  been  trained  to  the  profession  of  arms  and 
accustomed  to  energetic  measures ;  and  if  he  had  been  convinc- 
ed that  these  people  had  no  just  cause  of  complaint,  or  if  he  had 

*AlIuding  probably  to  the  seizure  and  imprisonmentof  Husband  and  Hunter. 


126  LIKE    OF  PAVID  CALDWELL,  h.X'. 

felt  conscious  of  an  honest  purpose  to  do  what  was  right,  he 
ought  to  have  adopted  such  prompt  and  vigorous  measures  as 
would  have  suppressed  the  prevailing  disorders  at  once  ;  but  by 
his  awkard  attempts  to  justify  himself  and  his  officers;  and  by 
promising  and  threatening  at  the  same  time,  he  betrayed  that 
want  of  firmness  and  resolution  which  usually  attend  a  man 
when  he  knows  that  he  is  wanting  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty, 
and  that  facts  are  against  him.  The  Regulators  having  hitherto 
been  guilty  of  no  very  great  excesses ;  two  of  their  prominent 
men  having  been  taken  and  bound  over ;  and  the  rest  having 
quietly  returned  to  their  homes,  he  might  have  safely  left  the 
whole  business  to  a  regular  process  of  law,  if  the  laws  had  been 
faithfully  administered ;  but  by  becoming  a  party  in  the  dispute 
and  by  entering  into  negotiations  with  those  whom  he  professed 
to  consider  as  little  better  than  traitors,  he  sunk  his  owmdignity 
and  emboldened  them.  There  were  some  things  in  his  letter 
which  were  indeed  mortifying  or  irritating;  but  they  felt  en- 
couraged by  his  promises ;  and  if  he  had  performed  them,  in 
good  laith,  all  would  have  been  well. 

Early  in  July  he  arrived  in  Hillsborough,  where  he  had  direc- 
ted the  council  to  meet  him  about  the  first  of  Atigust ;  and  on 
his  arrival,  he  issued  the  proclamation  which  he  had  promised. 
The  Regulators,  ctnimated  by  his  presence  in  their  neighborhood, 
began  to  assemble  in  large  numbers,  for  the  purpose,  it  seems, 
of  mutual,  counsel  and  encouragement ;  but  assembling  with 
their  arms  which  they  were  always  in  the  habit  of  carrying  with 
them  wherever  they  went,  and  passing  their  usual  resolutions 
not  to  submit  to  oppression  any  longer,  the  governor  became  un- 
easy. He  sent  Tyree  Harris,  sheritf  of  the  county,  to  attend  one 
of  their  meetings  in  order  to  claim  the  public  tax,  and  endeavor 
to  dispose  the  people  to  pay  it  c/iee?]/'ul/i/,  and  submit  to  the  laws. 
He  wrote  them  a  letter  by  tiie  sheritf,  which  was  a  mere  echo  of 
liis communication  from  Brunswick,  except  that  he. gave  them 
a  little  blarnyy  and  appealed  to  their  honor  and  conscience  ;  but 
they  bade  the  sheriff  retire ;  threatened  his  life  if  he  proceeded 
to  distrain  their  property ;  and  rhade  him  return  without  any 
part  of  the  taxes.  In  a  few  days  they  sent  two  deputies  to  wait 
on  his  excellency  witli  an  answer  to  his  letter,  which  had  been 


MFE  OF  DAVID  CALJDWEJtL,  D.D.  1^7 

prepared  at  one  of  their  meetings.  They  complained  that  their 
appHcation  had  not  been  submitted  to  a  full  board  ;  that  the  go- 
vernor's late  proclamation  was  insufficient ;  and  expressed  an 
intention  of  applying  for  redress  to  the  legislature  at  its  next 
meeting.  He  told  the  deputies  that,  as  he  expected  a  meeting 
of  the  council  shortly,  he  would  lay  the  communication  before 
them ;  and  that  he  would,  in  due  time,  give  notice  of  the  result. 
On  the  night  of  the  1 1th,  information  was  brought  to  town  that  a 
thousand  or  more  of  the  Regulators  were  under  arms  m  the  vi- 
cinity with  hostile  intentions,  and  the  nearest  companies  of  mi- 
Utia  were  immediately  called  in  ;  but  it  was  soon  ascertained 
that  the  Regulators,  having  been  informed  that  an  attack  was 
meditated  on  them,  had  assembled  in  their  own  defence  ;  and 
that,  having  learned  their  mistake,  they  had  returned  to  their 
homes.  Before  he  dismissed  the  militia,  however,  he  had  an 
oath  administered  to  them  that "  with  hearts  and  hands,  lile  and 
goods,  they,  would  maintain  and  defend  the  king's  government 
in  the  prot^iuce^^ against  all  persons  whatever,  who  should  at- 
tempt to  obstruct  or  prevent  the  due  administration  of  the  laws, 
or  the  public  peace  and  tranquility  ;"  but  if,  instead  of  coining 
oaths  and  putting  himself  to  so  much  trouble  to  keep  the  people 
in  subjection,  he  had  taken  the  same  pains  to  make  the  clerks 
and  sheriffs  honest,  it  would  have  been  better  for  him  as  well  as 
for  the  colmtry. 

Vv^hen  the  council  met  he  laid  before  them  the  last  message  of 
the  Regulators,  and  by  their  advice  he  sent  them  a  pretty  long 
reply,  which  was  very  much  in  the  same  strain  with  his  former 
communication  ;  but  in  the  winding  up  he  peremptorily  requi- 
red, as  a  precautionary  measure  for  guarding  against  the  insults 
that  were  intended  to  be  offered  to  the  Superior  Court  of  justice, 
that  twelve  of  their  principal  and  most  wealthy  men  should 
wait  on  him  at  Salisbury,  on  the  25th  of  the  month,  and  in  his 
presence  execute  a  bond  i  i  the  penalty  of  £1,000,  as  a  security, 
that  no  attempt  would  be  made  to  rescue  William  Butler  and 
Harmon  Husband,  who  had  been  bound  over  to  the  next  Supe- 
rior Court  at  Hillsborough.  To  this  an  answer  was  sent,  which 
was  signed,  on  behalf  of  the  Regulators,  by  James  Hunter,  Pe- 
ter Julian,  and  Thomas  AVelborn.     They  lamented  that  it  had 


123  JLlFi:  01'  DAyU)  gajudwell,  d.d, 

been  their  misfortune  to  incur  the  governor's  displeasure,  and 
t'lat  thoir  conduct  had  given  him  any  reason  to  view  them 
as  binit  upon  mischief  rather  than  as  waiting  for  justice;  that 
the  late  alarms  of  raising  troops  and  bringing  down  the  Indians 
to  cut  oiTthe  inhabitants  of  the  county,  which  seemed  to  haveot- 
casioned  the  demand  of  security  against  the  rescue  of  Butler 
and  Husband,  were  groundless ;  that  they  liad  ever  exerted 
their  utmost  iufluence  in  moderating  and  pacifying  the  resent- 
ment of  their  neighbors;  that  these  men  would  ever  use  the 
same  care,  and  it  was  hoped,  would  be  able  to  governtlie  mul- 
titude by  reason  ;  but  that  none  of  them  were  willing  to  enter 
into  a  bond  ;  and  that,  if  they  were  to  do  so,  they  would  proba- 
bly lose,  by  such  a  step,  whatever  influence  they  had  before. 

When  the  court  mejt  at  Hillsborough,  on  the  22d  of  September, 
abovd  three  thousancTof  the  Regulators,  it  is  said,  appeared  and 
took  their  stand  within  half  a  mile  of  the  town.  They  gave  the 
most  positive  assurance  that  they  had  no  design  of  releasing  the 
persons  who  had  been  bound  over;  but  entreated  l\h  governor 
to  dissolve  the  present  assembly,  and  call  a  nev/  oae,  A  mes- 
sagp  was  sent  to  the  governor,  assuring  him  that,  if  be  would  let 
them  come  in  peaceably  to  complain  of  their  grievances  against 
the  officers,  and  pardon  all  past  breaches  of  the  peace,  except  as 
to  Butler  and  Husband,  they  would  disperse  and  ])ay  their  taxes; 
but  he  required  the  surrender  of  all  their  arms  in  pledge,  mitil 
the  trial  of  these  persons  was  over.  About  thirty  complied  ;  but 
the  rest  returned  home.  Four  bills  of  mdictment  were  then  sent 
to  the  grand  jury  against  Harmon  Husband  for  riot ;  but  only 
one  was  found  a  true  bill ;  and  on  that  he  was  a,cquihed  by  the 
traverse  jury.  William  Hunter  and  two  others  were  found 
guihy  of  a  riot,  for  which  they  were  condemned  to  pay  a  heavy 
fine  and  sufTer  a  long  imprisonment.  Two  of  them  broke  jail, 
and  the  other  remained  in  prison,  though  the  door  was  broken 
open  ;  but  the  governor  pardoned  hiin  as  well  as  those  who  had 
escaped. 

This  was  the  court  at  which  the  six  indictments  for  extortion 
were  found  against  Edmund  Fanning  ;  and  the.  plaintiffs  were 
no  doubt  encouraged  to  take  this  course  by  the  promises  and 
personal  presence  of  the  governor.     They  had  not  supj>Dscd  that 


LlKi;  OK  1>A\IJ)  I.  AJ.DWEl.L,  D.l).  1  J:> 

all  his  assurances  of  rcfonn  were  a  mere  puli";  or  lluit  iiisteiul 
of  seeing  their  oppressors  rebulced  by  being  turned  out  of  ollici', 
or  severely  punished  in  some  other  Way,  they  would  themselves 
be  indieted  for  riots,  and  committed  to  prison,  or  bound  over  to 
\:iLp  m(\peace.  The  decisions  of  this  court,  made  under  the 
.  -  of  the  governor  and  evidently  with  his  approbation,  seem 
Ao  liavc  produced  a  crisis  in  their  affairs^  because  there  was  such 
a  mockery  of  justice  as  to  convince  them  tliat  no  adequate  re- 
li;  f  A  as  to  be  expected  from  executive  authority,  or  from  the 
jiulicial  tribunals  of  the  country.  A  prompt  and  thorough  re- 
form ol  notorious  and  long  standing  abuses  on  the  part  of  ihv 
government  officers  would  immediately  have  put  an  end  to  the 
troubles ;  but  the  miserable  shifts  that  were  made  to  avoid  such 
a  course,  satisfied  the  people  that  they  must  either  resist,  or  sub- 
mit to  be  wronged  and  opposed  by  every  pettifogger  or  needy 
coxcomb  that  could  crawl  into  office. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  John  Lea,  sherifl^'  of  Or- 
ange county,  when  attempting  to  serve  a  warrant  on  Hanson 
IlamiUon, ybr  a  breach  of  I  he  peace,  was  attacked  by  John  Pugh 
and  two  other  Regulators  who  compelled  him  to  desist,  and  beat 
him  severely.  This  is  all  the  notice  I  find  of  the  Regulators  in 
the  common  histories  of  the  country,  for  nearly  eighteen  months 
after  the  meeting  of  the  court  above  mentioned  ;  but  they  were 
not  idle.  The  year  1769  was  spent  in  holding  town_and  neigh- 
borhood meeiings  all  over  the  country,  in  v/hich  r^olutions  of 
defending  and  preserving  their  liberties  and  property  were  passed. 
Papers,  in  the  same  spirit  and  of  the  same  import,  were  circula- 
ted through  the  country,  and  signed  by  great  numbers.  'I'heir 
meetings  were  probably  noisy  and  tuinnltuous,  as  popular 
meetings  of  the  kind  usually  are  at  the  present  day,  especially 
when  held  under  great  excitement ;  and  they  had  almost  as  many 
songs  as  the  people  have  now  before  a  presidential  election. — 
Rednap  Howell,  who  is  said  to  have  been  from  New  Jersey, 
and  who  taught  a  conmion  school  somewhere  on  Deep  river, 
was  the  bard  of  the  day  ;  and  composed  about  40  songs,  some 
fragments  of  which  still  remain.*     Tlieir  resolutions  were  soon 

"'The  folIowin£r  lines  written  by  Ucdnap  llowel,  and  in  the  fliulDiriic;  form, 
are  here  inserled,  merely  lor  liie  repreBCntalioa  uhicli  lliev  jrjve  oi'lhe  char- 
17 


l.U'i  LlFi:    OK  DAVID  CAldWElL,  D.D. 

carried  into  ciloct ;  for  whatever  acts  of  violence  may  liave  In^.eii 
occasionally  committed  before'this,  by  individuals  or  small  par- 
tics,  which  tlie  great  body  of  the  Regulators  regretted,  resistance^  a 
seems  now  to  have  become  general ;  and  the  leaders,  either  0( 
could  not,  or  took  no  pains  to  restrain  them.  "In  default  of  the 
payment  of  taxes,  the  sherifls  had  been  going. over  th^  country, 
distraining  tlie  goods  of  the  citizens,  seizing  furniture,  cattle, 
pewter  vessels,  or  any  thing  else  they  chose  to  lay  their  hands 
on,  thereby  causing  a  great  deal  of  distress.*  The  people  in  their 
rage  sometimes  caught  them  and  married  them  to  a  black-jack, 
that  is,  tied  them  up  to  a  black-jack,  with  their  arms  round  it, 
gave  them  a  sound  dressing,  and  then  laughed  to  see  them  hug 
their  bride  while  undergoing  the  operation.  The  sheriffs  and 
their  deputies,  therefore,  went  three  or  four  in  a  company  ;"  but 
this  did  not  long  answer  their  purpose  ;  and  the  taxes  could  not 
he  collected  until  they  made  arrangements  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  next  year,  oV  the  begimiing  of  the  year  following  to  restore 
all  their  unjust  exactions.     If  ever  a  set  of  men  were  taught  the 

acter  and  personal  appearance  of  the  two  men  to  whom  they  refer. 
Who  would  have  tho't  Harmon,  that  hum  drum  oW  fox, 
■^  ho  looks  so  bemeaning  with  his  towsled  locks. 
Would  have  hid  resolution  to  stand  to  the  tack; 
A  las  my  dear  Ned,  our  cape  is  quite  hlack. 
And  who  would  have  tiio't  Hunter,  so  seeming-ly  mild, 
^"Vould  have  been  so  j^i^aulie,  mischievous  and  wild, 
1  tho't  him  a  fool,  and  I  took  him  for  one; 
Alas  my  dear  Fraiik,  our  cause  is  undone. 
Like  Turkish  Bashaws  ihey  bear  absolute  sway; 
Alas  my  dear  Frank,  we  must  all  run  away. 

*'r!)e  following  undoubted  specimen  ofRednapHowel's  poetry,  is  sooraphic 
and  contnins  such  a  frank  expression  of  the  prevailinff  sentiments  respeclinj? 
the  individuals  named  init,  that  we  presume  it  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  the 
reader. 

Savrf  l-'mhawk  to  Fanninsf.  to  tell  the  plain  truth. 
When  f  came  to  this  country  1  was  but  a  youth, 
:\ly"  fatiior  sent  for  me  :  I  vva'nt  worth  a  cross, 
.And  tJien  my  first  study  was  to  .steal  tor  a  horse. 
1  quickly  jrot  credit,  Mud  thpn  ran  away. 
And  hiiv'nt  paid  tor  him  to  this  very  day. 
Says  Fanning  to  Frohav.'k,  'tis  a  folly  to  lie, 
I  rode  an  old  inare  thnt  was  blind  of  an  eye; 
F.ive  shilli'ngs  in  money  I  had  in  my  purse, 
.My  coat  it  wn.^  patched,  but  not  much  the  worse; 
.IJtit  now  >ve'vc  trntricb,  and  it's  very  v/ell. known, 
That  we'll  do  vcrv  well  if  they'll  let  us  alone. 


Lli'E  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D-P. 


i;/l 


(hiiiger  of  making  a  people,  whose  laws  tlioy  were  execulinc^', 
desperate  hy  oppression,  tJie  lesson  was  tanglit  to  the  clei'lCsfind 
slieriils  ot"  tiiat  day.  All  or  most  of  the  sheriffs,  and  thqir  depu- 
ty too,  who  were,  at  that  period  caught  out  C9llecting  taxes 
w  <  re  well  "  lynched ;"  and  some  transactions  of  the  kind  tiiat 
would  almost  start  a  shudder  have  been  doscrihed  to  the  wriler 
by  men  who  were  present  on  the  occasion  ;  but  any  detail  of 
them  here  is  unnecessary. 

In  March,  1770,  Maurice  Jiloore,  one  of  the  associate  justices 
Avlio  attended  at  Sahsbury  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  Supe- 
rior Court,  reported  to  the  governor  that  the  sheriffs  complained 
heavily  of  not  being  able  to  collect  the  taxes  on  account  of  the 
opposition  made  by  the  Regulators  ;  and  he  said  that  "  the  evU, 
though  cognizable  by  the  courts  of  law,  was  one  which  no  civil 
process  could  redress,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  none  could  be 
executed  among  those  people."  Difficulties  of  a  similar  kind 
existed  also  in  some  of  the  lower  counties  ;  for  in  April,  Simon, 
Bright,  sheriff  of  Dobbs  county,  having  a  warrant  to  apprehend 
Thomas  Blake  and  John  Coulie,  two  of  the  Regulators  who 
were  spreading  their  principles  in  that  county,  was  attacked^  by 
a  party  of  their  proselytes,  who  killed  James  Lindsay,  one  of  his 
assistants,  and  compel  led  him  to  abandon  his  purpose.  The 
Superior  Court  met  at  Hillsborough,,  Sept.  22d,  1770  ;  but  was 
interrupted  and  driven  out  by  the  Regulators  before  the  business  . 
was  finished.  Last  fall  I  transcribed  from  the  records  the  fol- 
lowing entry.  Monday,  24th.,  "  Several  persons  styling  them- 
selves Regulators  .  assembled  together  in  the  court  yard  under 
the  conduct  of  Harmon  Husband,  James  Hunter,  Rednap  Hov/- 
el,  William  Butler,  SElmuel'Divinny,  and  many  others,  insulted 
some  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar,  and  in  a  riotous  manner  went 
into  the  courthouse  and  forcibly  carried  out  some  of  the  attor- 
neys and  in  a  cruel  manner  beat  them.  They  then  insisted 
that  the  Judge  (Richard  Henderson  being  the  only  one  oil  the 
bench)  should  proceed  to  the  trial  of  .their  leaders  who  had  been 
indicted  at  a  former  court,  and  that  tlie  jury  should  ])C  taken  out 
of  their  party.  Therefore  the  Judge  finding  it  impossible  to 
proceed  with  honor  to  himself  and  justice  to  his  country,  a.d- 
journed  the  court  'til  to-niorrow  at  10  o'clock  :  and  tookadvaii- 


io.J  LIFE  01'   DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

tagc  of  the  night  and  made  his  escape,  and  the  court  adjourned 
to  meet  in  course. 

'^  March  term,  1771.  The  persons  styhng  themselves  Regula- 
tors, under  the  conduct  of  Harmon  Husband,  James  Hunter, 
Rednap  Howel,  William  Butler,  and  Samuel  Divinny,  still  con- 
tinuing their  riotous  meetings,  and  severely  threatening  the 
Judges,  lawyers,  and  other  officers  of  the  court,  prevented  any 
of  the  Judges  or  lawyers  attending.  Therefore  the  court  con- 
tinues adjourned  'til  the  next  September  term." 

On  the  above  record,  and  on  the  notions  which  Judge  Hen- 
derson entertained  of  what  would  be  "  honor  to  himself  and 
justice  to  his  country,"  the  reader  must  form  his  own  opinion  ; 
but  that  the  people^  driven  to  a  kind  of  desperation  by  the  extor- 
tions and-  insults  af  the  government  officers,  for  which  they  could 
get  no  redress,  emboldened  by  their  past  success  or  by  their 
number,  and  some  of  them  no  doubt  under  the  influence  of  spir- 
its, did  many  things  which  the  better  part  of  them  disapproved, 
will  not  be  disputed,  though  they  were  probably  no  worse  than 
the  numberless  injuries  of  a  similar  kind  inflicted  by  the  whigs, 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  on  the  property  and  persons  of 
those  who  had  identified  themselves  with  their  oppressors. 
When  they  turned  out  the  court  the  first^ime,  they  proceeded  to 
take  summary  justice  on  those  who  were  most  obnoxious,  and 
to  transact  the  business  of  court  in 'their  own  vvay.  Some  of 
them  met  John  WiUiafiis,  a  lawyer,  when  on  his  way  to  court, 
rmder  pretence  of  business,  and  lynched  him  in  the  street ;  but 
Fanning  was  the  most  odious  to  them,  because,  in  addition  to 
Ins  extortions  by  which  he  had  become  rich  and  was  living  in 
splendor,  "his  general  conduct  was  marked  with  the  most  dis- 
gusting hauteur;''''  and  during  the  two  or  three  years  in  which 
he  had  represented  the  county  in  the  legislature,  instead  of  in- 
forming the  people,  as  he  ought  t-o  have  done,  concerning  the 
disposition  of  the  public  money  and  the  purposes  for  which  the 
taxes  were  laid,  he  had  been  provoking  theili  with  the  charge  of 
treason  and  rebellion.  They  dragged  him  out  of  the  courthouse 
by  the  heels,  whipped  him  severely,  and  kept  him  in  confine- 
ment during  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Next  morning  when 
ihcy  found  ihnt  t!ie  Judg(\,  instead  of  staying  to  try  the  causes 


LIFE  OP'PAVJl)  CAi,I)\VKLL,  D.I).  1,').') 

as  he  had  gi\cen_theni  reason  to  bcheve  he  would,  had  escaped 
in  the  night,  they  gave  Fanning  another  good  dressing,  brolie  his 
costly  furniture,  and  demolislied  liis  fine  house,  which  stood 
where  the  Masonic  Hail  now  stands.  It  is  said  that  their  inten- 
tion was  t  *set  fire  to  it ;  but  the  day  being  windy  they  were 
afraid  that  the  flames  would  spread  to  the  other  houses,  and  they 
did  not  wish  to  destroy  the  town.* 

After  this  they  went  into  the  courthouse,  appointed  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Yorke  for  clerk,  set  up  a  mock  Judge,  made  Fan- 
ning, as  tradition  says,  plead  law  before  him,  and  issued  a  num- 
ber of  cases  on  docket.  Their  decisions  were  perfectly  ridicu- 
lous ;  but  they  appear  to  have  intended  the  whole  proceeding 
as  a  mere  farce  ;.  or  as  an  expression  of  their  contempt  for  the 
men  who,  as  they  conceived,  had  been  so  deficient  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duties  as  public  servants.  When  Judge  Hen- 
derson informed  the  governor  of  these  transactions  Re  told  him 
that  no  effectual  steps  could  be  taken  to  bring  the  offenders  to 
condign  punishment,  for  no  process  could  issue  while  they  were 
tried  under  the  existing  court  law  and  in  the  district  in  which 
the  offence  had  been  conmiitted  ;  and  requested  him  to  have  the 
legislature  convened  forthwith ;  but  on  consulting  with  the 
council  it  was  thought  best  not  to  call  a  meeting  of  it  any  where 
in  the  upper  parts  of  the  province  ;  and  it  could  not  meet  at  the 
usual  place  on  account  of  the  prevailing  sickness. 

The  legislature  therefore  met  at  Newbern,  on  the  day  appoin- 
ted, Dec.  5th,  1770;  and  the  governor  received  them  in  the  pal- 

*Snmc  of  their  conduct,  however,  as  might  be  anticipated,  was  as  much  a 
source  of  amusement  as  of  regret.  While  the  main  body  of  them  were  en- 
gaged in  breaiiing  down  the  house,  two  or  three  who  had  probably  never  been 
in  town  before,  it  is  said  undertook  to  demolish  a  pantry  of  unusual  size  which 
stood  in  ♦ho  yard;  and  found  in  it  a  large  bell  which  Fanning  had  procured 
for  ilie  Episcopal  church  then  bnildmg  in  the  place,  and  hra:d  stowed  it  away 
tl'.ere  until  it  would  be  needed.  This  was  something  new  and  wonderful; 
but  while  they  were  conjecturing  what  use  could  be  made  of  it,  some  others 
came  up  who  were  a  little  more  knowing;  and  they  pronounced  it  at  once  to 
be  a.^i£e  moriar.  That  was  enough:  It  was  instantly  concluded  tliat  it 
wonkl  be~weinfrsave  Mr.  Fanning  the  trouble  of  pounding  so  much  spice  in 
future;  anthno  sooner  said  than  done.  With  the  next  breath  the  boll  was  in 
fragments;  and  this  incident,  however  ludicrous,  shews  their  inveterate  dis- 
like to  tlip  man.  yuch  incidents  are  not  only  apt  to  occur  among  a  large  mul- 
titude promiscuously  assembled,  and  under  great  excitement;  but  they  shew 
the  actual  stale  of  tilings  better  than  the  more  important  details  of  general 
h  story. 


M 


134  LIKE  OF  liAVIU  GAi.DWlii.1.,  D.D. 

ace  which  was  now  finished  and  to  which  he  had  just  removed. 
After  making  his  acknowledgements  to  the  provH|^  for  the  ele-* 
gant  edifice  in  which  he  had  the  happiness  to  meet  the  two 
houses,  he  called  their  attention,  first  to  the  abuses  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  finances,  and  then  to  the  disturbances.^.ccasioned 
bj?-  the  Regulators.  From  his  speech  when  he  dissolved  the  as- 
senibly  at  the  previous  session,  it  appears  that  the  sheritr  had 
been  suffered  to  absent  himself  and  withhold  his  public  ac- 
counts; and  from  his  speech  on  this  occasion  it  seerris  that  the 
treasurers  were  in  the  habit  of  speculating  on  the  public  funds, 
or  of  employing  them  as  a  stock  for  private  trade.  He  laid  be- 
fore the  assembly  the  depositions  which  had  been  sent  him  of 
the  late  disturbances  at  Hillsborough;  and  he  recommended 
that  provision  should  be  made  for  raising  a  sufficient  body  of 
men,  Under  the  rules  and  discipline  of  war,  to  march  into  the 
settlements  in  which  these  disturbances  had  taken  place,  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  and  aiding  the  magistrates  and  civil  officers. 
As  the  causes  of  complaint  had  not  been  removed,  the  trou- 
bles were  increasing ;  and  , every  occurrence,  however  trivial, 
seemed  to  hasten  the  catastrophe.  Harmon  Husband  was  a 
Imember  of  the  lower  house,  having  been  chosen  to  represent 
/the  county  of  Orange  ;  but  his  presence  was,  of  course,  not  ve- 
ry agreeabje  to  the  governor ;  and  his  conduct  while  there,  if 
accounts  be  true,  was  not  calculated  to  conciliate  one  of  Trydns's 
haughty  temper.  The  people  engaged  in  the -Regulation  had 
refused,  partly  by  his  influ'ence,  to  pay  the  taxes  demanded  by 
the  sheriffs  ;  and  he  undertook  to  act  the  part  of  felieriff  himself 
in  this  matter.  Before  he  left/  home  he  collected  the  exact 
amount  of  tax  due  from  every  man  in  his  county,  according  to 
law;  and  took  it  with  him.  When  the  two  houses  met  and 
his  name  was  announced  as  a  member  from  Orange,  the  gover- 
nor hi  a  haughty  tone  demanded  the  reason  why  the  king's  sub- 
jects in  his  county  had  refused  to  pay  their  taxes.  With  tlie 
plainness  and  firmness  of  a  Quaker,  he  replied  that  the  people 
owed  his  excellency,  as  they  believed,  so  much  butter  ;*  but  as 

*What  WHS  the  rejigon  of  tliis  l)(?lier,  if  the  rpinark  wiiich  follows:  were  nrtt 
jiiteiid^cl  merely  ns  a  sariasm  on  the  part  of  MusbaruJ,  I  know  not,  inilc.-s  there 
WMs  some  law  stiH  unrepealed,  whicii  required  or  permitted  the  tri.xes  to  be 
piiiJ  in  butter  or  other  j)roduce.     That  he  collected  and  paid  iho  taxes  iji   nyt 


LIFE  OJb'  DAVUJ  CAI.DWKLLj  D.D.  1  .{5 

■Hi''         .  "' 

Y    that  \yas  apt  to  stick  to  tlie  fuiirovs,  lo  nrcvcnt  unnecessary  waste, 
they  had  freely  paid  it  ni  iiToncy,  ;Mid  siul  ii  by  their  common- 
er w|iich  he  Ayas  then  ready  to  pay  over,  to  the  treasurer  pra^i- 
^ed  he  could'get  a  receipt  to  she^v  them  when  te- returned. — 
With  that  he  walked  up  to  the  speaker's  table,  and  laid.dowu 
his  bag  of  specie,  saying  "  here  are  the  taxes  which  were  refas- 
.^  ved  to  your  sheritf;"  but  the  governor  eyed  him  with  contempt ; 
,--|,  a4id  sought  an  opportunity  of  putting-4owii  one^iom  he  evi- 
^    dently  feared;  under  .various  pr-^|ejfjs,  such  as,  that  a  seditious 
I^iece  which  had  appeared  in  the  Gazette,  in  the  fornx  of  a  letter 
directed  to  ]\Iaurice  Moore,  one  of  the  associate  justices,  had 
^     been  written  by  Husband  ;  that  he  was  one  of  the  people  who 
^  caWed  themselves  Regulators,  and  had  been  a  principal  promo- 
ter of  the  late  ^ts  ;  and  that  insinuations  had  been  vuiade  by 
WPrnim  that  if  he  \rere  imprisoned  the  people  would  come  to  his 
^     rescue,  the  lower  house  were  induced  to  pass  a  vote  for  his 
expulsion ;  but  apprehending  the  consequences  of  his  return  to 
his  own  county,  especially  under  the  irritation  which  his  expul- 
sion would  necessarily  excite,  TryOn  wished  to  have  him  arres- 
ted ;  and  having  called  his  council  together,  he  submitted   the 
propriety  of  it  to  their  consideration.     They  disapproved  of  the 
measure  ;  but,  at  his  request,  Martin  Howard,  the  chief  justice, 
who,  as  it  appears,  was  also  a  member  of  the  board,  heard  wit- 
nesses at  the  council  table,  and  issued  a  warrant  for  his  appre- 
hension, under  which  he  was  committed  to  jaily  and  remained 
there  several  days  before  he  could  procure  bail.     It  is  said  that 
he  was  released  then  only  on  condition  that  he  would  use  his 
influence  to  prevent  the  Regulators  from  commg  to  Newbern  ; 
and  althougii  this  is  only  tradition  it  has  been  ever  since  believed 
in  this  part  of  the  country. 

To  devise  the  ways  and  means  of  punishing  the  leading  men 
among  the  Regulators  for  their  past  conduct,  and  for  preventing 
a  repetition  of  the  same  things  in  future,  was  a  prominent  object 
with  the  legislature  or  with  the  governor,  during  the  present 

only  asserted  by  the  writer  in  the  Weekly  Times,  from  whose  commnni- 
calion  the  above  statement  is  taken,  blit.  seems  to  be  well  attested  in  other 
ways;  and  while  it  shows  the  confidence  which  the  people  placed  in  him,  it 
is  an  evidence  that  they  were  not  actuated  by  a  more  ttirbiilent  spirit,  but 
were  willing  to  pay  all  lawfdl  taxes-,  when  they  knew  thorn  to  be  lawful. 


lot)  LIFK  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D  r       ^ 

session.     An  act  was  passed  making  it  tlie  duty  ol  every  ipstice   ^ 
of  t!ic  peace  or  slierW,  wlien  informed  of  the  assembling  (^Mv^     \ 
number  of  personsf^b^ve  ten,>ft)r  the  purpose  of  disturbi|ig1flie 
pc;ice,  to  repRir  to  them,  requjre  and  command  tliem  to  dispers^   .1 
and  return  to  their  respective  homes ;  and  it  was  made  felony  * 
without  the  benefit  of  clergy,.for  such  persons  to  remain  asseni- 
bled,  to  the  number  often,  for  more  than  one  hour.     It  was  ma^ 
the  duty  ofj^e  justice&*ind' sheriffs  to  call  for  the  assistance|£)^^<, 
any  of  the  kmg's  able  sub^ts.  for  the  purpose  of- apprehending    '■< 
tlie  persons  thus  assembled  together.     It  was  also  made.feloriy 
for  any  number  of  persons,  above  ten,  to  assemble  together  with 
an  intention  of  disturbing  any  court  of  judicatu\'e  in  its  proce^dr 
ings ;  of  assaulting  or  threatening  any  judge  <5r  officer  of  cc^t,T 
during  the  term';  of  assaulting  any  sheriff  or  coroner,  wlxile  er- '  , 
ecuting  the  duties  of  his  office  ;  or  of  demolishi^ig  or  destroyiyf^p 


any  church,  chapel,  court  house,  prison,  or  other  house  ^f  any" 
description.  As  it  had  been  found  very  difficult  to  punish  any 
of  the  Regulators  in  their  own  county,  the  attorney  general  was 
authorized  to  prosecute  them  in  a/iy  superior  court  or  court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer,  in  theprovirvce  ;  and  on  an  indictment  be- 
ing found,  the  judges  were  directed  to  issue  a  proclamation  a- 
gainst  the  defendant,  commanding  him  to  surrender  himself  and 
stand  liis  trial ;  and,  on  his  failing  to  do  so,  he  was  to  be  held 
guilty  and  outlawed,  and  his  lands  and  chattels  forfeited.  .The 
governor  was  empowered  to  make  drafts  from  the  militia  to  en- 
force the  execution  of  the  laws ;  and  any  persons  who  were 
found  embodied  and  in  arms,  with  intention  of  opposing  the 
military  force,  if  they  refused,  on  the  command  of  a  justice  or 
sheriff,  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  surrender  themselves,  were 
to  be  treated  as  traitors.  To  diminish  the  strength  of  the  Regu- 
lators by  division,  four  new  counties  were  established  :  One  by 
taking  a  part  from  each  of  the  counties  of  Orange,  Cumberland 
and  Joimston,'  which,  in  co-mpliment  to  Miss  JJilst-htT'TVake,  a 
sister  of  Tryon's  lady,  was  called  Wake  ;  another  was  formed 
from  the  counties  of  OraiTige"~aTld:  Rowan,  whicii  was  called  Guil- 
ford', a  third  was  formed  out  of  the  southern  part  of  Orange  to 
which  the  name  of  Chatham  was  given ;  and  the  northern  part 
of  Rowan  was  erected  inio  a  county  which  was  called  Surry. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWKl.L,  D.D.  1   i,, 

Eut  they  were  not  permitted  to  fiuisli  their  legislation  in  quiet; 
for  wfien  they  were  about  to  adjourn,  information  was  received 
that  tlie  Regulators  were  asseiilBled  in  great  numbers  at  Cross 
Creek;  and  the  assembly  immediately  voted  the  sum  of  £500 
to  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  governor  for  tlifi  purpose  of  enabling 
him  to  defend  Newb(3rn,  as  it  Avas  reported  that  they  intended 
to  come  and  set  fire  to  the  palace.  Before  the  legislature  met, 
it  was  reported  in  Newbeni  tiiat  the  Regulators,  being  greatly 
exasperated  by  the  measures  whifih  had  been  taken  to  have 
Fanning  sent  to  the  assembly,  were  coming  down  to  prevent 
him  from  taking  a  seat,  and  if  they  failed  in  that,  to  set  the  town 
on  fire.  Tryon  was  so  alarmed  by  this  report  that  he  had  New- 
bern  fortified  ;  issued  orders  to  thexolonels  of  the  miUliaJn  the 
counties  lying  on  the  Neuse  and  Tar  rivers,;  that  they  should 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  against  the  Regulators,  on 
tiie  first  news  of  their  approach ;  and  Col.  Leach,  of  Graven 
county,  was  directed  to  order  his  regiment  into  town  for  the 
protection  of  the  legislature.  The  rumor  which,  reached  jN'ew- 
bern,  when  the  two  houses  were  about  to  adjourn,  that  the  Reg- 
ulators were '  coming,  was  not  altogether  groundless  ;  for  on 
hearing  that  their  representative  was  imprisoned  there,  they  em- 
bodied, to  the  number  of  1000  or  1500,  as  soon  as  they  could,  to 
go  and  release  him,  which  they  were  determined  to  do  at  all 
hazards.  They  crossed  Haw  river  at  Redfield's  ford,  four  or 
five  miles  above  Pitfsborough  ;  aiid  encamped  upon  the  high 
ground  on  the  east  side,  though  most  of  the  wagons  remained 
over  night  on  the  west  side.  Next  morning  they  took  up  their 
line  of  march  again,  but  had  not  gone  far  until  they  met  Hus- 
band on  his  way  home.  He  persuaded  them  to  return,  which 
was  easily  done,  as  they  were  then  in  a  better  humour ;  but 
som.e  of  them  went  up  to  Hillsjjorough,  where  they  made  a 
kind  of  oration,  though  it  does  not  appear  that  they  did  mud 
damage.  There  was  snow  on  the  ground  when  they  started  ; 
and,  as  many  of  them  had  nothing  more  than  moccasins  to  pro- 
tect their  feet,  tliey  were  badly  frostbitten  ;  but  this  was,  in  their 
estimation,  comparatively  a  small  matter. 

Early  in  the  month  of  February,  the  governor,  to  prevent  lh(5 
Regulators  from  being  supplied  with  ammuniiion.issue<i  a 


ISS  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D 

l:nnatioii  forbidding  all  merchants,  traders,  or  otlicrs  to  supply 
:uiy  person  with  powder,  shot,  or  lead,  until  further  notice.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  same  month  he  received  a  fresh  alarm. — 
IJednap  Howel  had  been  sent  into  Halifax,  as  a  kind  of  agent 
Jbr  promoting  the  cause  of  the  Regulators  in  that  county  ;  and 
he  wrote  to  James  Hunter,  Feb.  16th,  1771,  giving  him  an  ac- 
count of  the  prospects  in  that  region,  of  the  spirit  and  resolu- 
tion of  the  Regulators  there,  of  some  of  Tryon's  late  proceed- 
ings, and  making  some  severe  reflections'  on  his  excellency. — 
This  letter  was  intercepted  and  forwarded  to  Tryon.  About  the 
fn'st  of  March  war  was  declared,  or,  it  was  determined  hi  coun- 
cil to  raise  a  force  froni  the  several  regiments  of  militia,  which 
the  governor  was  advised  to  command  m  person,  and  march  at 
their  head  into  the  settlements  of  the  Regulators  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reducing  tliem  to  obedience  by  force,  of  assisting  the 
sherifl'  m  levying  the  taxes,  of  protecting  the  election  of  a  new 
member  for  Orange  county,  in  place  of  Harmon  Husband,  and 
of  supporting  thec5nimissioners  appointed  to  run  the  dividing 
line  between  Orange  and  Guilford. — But  it  may  be  proper  now 
to  take  a  brief  view  of  the  country  in  which  and  the  people 
against  whom  he  was  going  to  war. 

E?:clusive  of  Halifax,  Dobbs,  Cumberland,  and  some  other 
counties  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  province,  where,  according 
t(j  the  common  histories  of  the  country,  Howcl's  letter  to  Hun- 
ter, and  other  sources,  there  appear  to  have  been  a  great  many 
who  were  warmly  engaged  in  the  cause,  the  principles  of  the 
Regulation  seem  to  have  prevailed  in  the  following  counties,  ac- 
cording" to  their  present  arrangement,  viz:  Granville,  Orange, 
ju'obably  Person  and  Caswell,  though  I  have  seen  no  special  no- 
tice of  them,  Chatham,  Randolph,  Guilford,  Rockingham, 
Stokes,  perhaps  Surry,  Davidson,  Anson,  Cabarrus,  Mecklen- 
burg, Rowan,  Davie,  Ifedell,  Wilkes,  and  to  some  extent  in 
Ihukc  and  Uncoln  ;  for  when  the  writer  was  in  thelatter  coun- 
ty, a  few  monthssince,  he  became  acquainted  with  some  very 
respectable  men,  who  said  that  their  fathers,  Uving,  at  the  time 
referred  to,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Catawba,  were  in  the  Regu- 
on  battle;  and  while  the  people  throughout  this  wide  extent 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  1.3-9 

of  country  did  not   all  rise   in  arms   against  the  governor,  it  is 
believed  that  they  were  generally  Regulators  in  principle. 

Tile  Regulators  have  been,  in  several  respects,  not  fairly  re- 
presented ;  for  it  happened  to  them,  as  it  has  tisually  happened 
to  most  others  in  similar  circumstances,  because  they  were  un- 
successful, however  just  their  cause-,  it  became  the  fashion  to 
misrepresent  and  abuse  them.  The  victors  made  their  own 
statements-  and  representations ;  and  in  time  these  were  adopted 
even  by  their  friends,  because  they  had  no  others  oil  which  they 
could  rely.  Williamson  says  that  they  were  in  general  of  the 
poorest  class  of  citizens;  that  while  three  or  four  of  their  lead- 
ers had  some  information  and  a  considerable  degree  of  cunning, 
the  great  body  of  them  were  deficient  in  every  kind  of  knowl- 
edge ;  that  they  lived  chiefly  in  new  settlements  upon  poor  land ; 
that  they  had  been  culpably  neglectful  of  private  schools,  and 
of  all  other  means  of  instruction  ;  and  that  the  people  in  the  old- 
er settlements,  near  the  coast,,  had  better  means  of  acquiring 
knowledge,  implying  that  this  was  the  great  reason  why  they 
were  not  Regulators  too.  In  all  this  there  is  some  truth  ;  but  it 
is  not  the  whole  truth.  The  people  were  not  in  general  either 
wealthy  or  learned ;  but  then  they  were  not  paupers,  and  they 
were  not  heathen.  It  was  with  them  as  it  is  with  the  people 
now  :  some  lived  on  laiid  which  was  poor ;  and  others  on  that 
which  was  fertile:  some  were  .very  poor  and  others  were  in 
better  circumstances ;  but  taken  all  together,  as  any  one  may 
see,  they  had  the  best  lands  in  the  whole  province  ;  and  while 
they  were  mostly  destitute  of  the  comforts,  they  had  the  substau- 
tials  of  life  in  abundance.  They  ha'd  not  had' time  to  amass 
property  or  procure  luxuries ;  for  haying  been  but  a  few  years  in 
the  country,  their  time  had  been  occ,upied  in  clearing  land,  and 
in  providing  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  for  themselves  and  their 
families.  As  they  iiad,  in  some  parts,  no  sawmills,  no  improved 
roads,  hardly  any  wagons  or  conveniences  for  getting  to  n'lar- 
ket,  and  were  obliged  almost  to  give  their  produce  away  when 
they  got  it  there,  money,  and  the  comforts  which  money  alone 
can  procure,  must  have  been  scarce.  Several  old  men  who  liv- 
ed in  the  south  side  of  Guilford  and  in  the  parts  of  Randolph 
adjoinins  it,  told  me  a  few  years  ago,  that  about  th,e  time  oflho^ 


140  LIFK    OK   DAVID  CAldWELI,,  D.D. 

Regulation,  thei:e  was  not  a  plank  floor,  a  feather  bed,  a  riding 
carriage,  nor  a  side  saddle  within  the  boundsof  their  acquaint- 
ance ;  but  it  was  not  so  every  "^vhere  ;  and  on  th6  whole  there 
was-probably  about  such  a  state  of  things  as  might  be  seen  now 
in  any  of  our  irontier  settlements  to  the  west. 

As  most  of  them  hadcorne  from  Pennsylvania,  where  the 
principles  of  civil  and  reUgious  liberty  w6re  then  better  under- 
stood, and'more  fully  reduced  to  practice  than  in  any  of  the  other 
colonics,  or  in  any  other  part  orthe  world,  they  could  not  be 
'wholly  ignorant  of  their  rights,  as  British  subjects;  nor  were 
the'y  entirely  without  the  means'  of  information.  Wherever 
people  hav^c  an  enlightened  and  evangelical  ministry,  they  will 
be  instructed  in  the  prominent  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  in 
their  relative  duties ;  and  so  for  as  Presbyterians  were  concerned 
they  had  such'  a  ministry,  not  adequate  to  their  wants,  but  to  a 
greater  extent  perhaps  than  any  other  denomination  at  that  time 
in  the  country.  "When  the  Orange  Presbytery  was  organized 
tlie  summer  before  the  Regulation  battle,  it  consisted  of  seven 
iuit)isters ;  and  these  all  lived  in  North  Carolina.  They  were 
,  all  men  of  classical  ediicatioii ;  and  most  of  them  were  graduates 
^of  Piinceton  college.  There  seems  to  have  been,  as  already 
stated,  a  classical  school' iii  Charlotte;  probably  another  in  Or- 
ange or  Granville  ;  and  Dr.  Caldwell's  school,  which  had  now 
been  in  operation  about  five  years,  had  prepared  several  young 
men  for  college,  and  some  who  became  distinguished  ministers 
of  the  gospel.  There  were  several  English  schools  within  the 
limits  of  what  is  now  'Guilford  county ;  and  the  people  generally 
understood  the  value  of  education.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Beuthahn,* 
who,  as  I  am  informed,  organized  the  German  Reformed  chur- 
ches in  Guilford  and  Orange,  taught  a  German  school  for  several 
years  about  this  time,  in  the  iSouth-east  corner  of  the  former 
county;  and  the  Lutherans  had  their  preachers,  who,  being 
from  Germany,  were  educated  men.  In  a  commiuiicalion  just 
received  from  Bishop  Vanvleck,,  of  Salem,  he  mentions  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Nussman  and  Arnt,  who,  having  been  sent  over  at  an 
early  p.eriod,  "labored  fiiithfully  in  poverty  and. privations  till, 
on  their  urgent  application,  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Stoj'h,Roschen, 
■  I'roiioiinccd  nearly  as  if  it  were  written  Bittuun. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  141 

and  Bernhard  were  sent  to  their  assistance."  The  German  Re- 
formed churches  had  several  ministers,  some  of  wliom  were. de- 
voted and  useful  men. ;  and  the  Moravians  were  well  suppUed. 
There  were  several  Baptist  ministers  in  the  province  ;  but  of  their 
character  I  know  nothing.  People  in  tliese  cii'cumstances  could 
not  be  so  grossly  ignorant  as  they  have  been  represented  ;  and 
the  Quakers,  although  they  differ  from  most  others  in  their  views 
of  the  ministry,  have  always  advocated  and  maintained  a  high 
degree  of  English  education.  There  is  no  class  of  people  in  the 
country  who  are  better  acquainted  with  all  the  business  trans- 
actions of  ordinary  life,  or  who  have  a  more  correct  understand- 
ing of  their  rights  and  privileges,  as  citizens  ;  but  the  Quakers, 
if  they  were  not  foremost  in  the  Regulation,  appear  to  have  uni-  . 
ted  heartily  in  all  the  measures  for  the  correction  of  abuses,  ex- 
cept fighting ;  and  it  is  said  that  some  of  them  had  metal  enough 
to  try  their  hand  at  that  too.  Such,  in  brief,  appears  to  have 
been  the  general  character  of  the  population;  and  there  were  a 
number  of  men  over  the  country  of  liberal  education,  besides 
ministers,  vv^hose  names  might  be  mentioned,  if  it  were  necessa- 
ry, so  that  the  community  was  far  from  being  in  a  state  of  bar- 
barous ignorance,  or  regardless  of  their  moral  obligation. 

Tliere  were  other  reasons,  besides  their  superior  intelligenc(3, 
even  admitting  that  such  a  superiority  existed,  why  the  people 
near  the  coast  were  not  engaged  in  the  Regulation.  As  they 
were  more  convenient  to  trade,  and  as  there  was  more  weaUh, 
the  country  having  been  much  longer  settled,  the  taxes  were 
not  felt  to  be  so  much  of  a  burden.  Besides  the  more  wealthy 
and  influential  .classes,  who  controlled  the  rest,  either  shared 
more  in  executive  patronage  by  having  offices  of  profit  con- 
ferred upon  them,  or  were  protected  by  their  weight  of  charac- 
ter from  the  rapacity  of  office  holders,  so  that  the  causes  of  dis- 
satisfaction did  not  exist  there  to  the  same  extent  as  in  other 
parts  of  the  province  ;  but  in  the  upper  counties  all,  except  of- 
fice holders  and  office  seekers,  admitted  the  absolute  necessity 
of  reform.  Men  of  education  and  intelligence,  who  were  un- 
influenced by  the  possession  or  the  prospect  of  otFice,  were  with 
the  Regulators  in  principle  and  spirit,  but  not  in  measures,  or 
not  in  their  ultra  measures,  •  just  because  theybelieved  that  the 


142  LIFE  OF  DAVin.GALBVVELL,  D.D 

people  were  not  prepared  for  a  conflict  with  the  estabhshed  go- 
vernment. Jones,  in  his  Defence  of  North  CaroHna,  says  that 
Maurice  JNIoore,  one  of  the  associate  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Court,  was  a  Regulator  ;  and  his  letter  to.  Governor  Tryon  after 
hi.s  transfer  to  New  York,  shews  that  he  sympathised  strongly 
with  them,  though  he  did  not  aiid  could  not  consistently  take 
part  witli  them  in  their  open  resistance  to  government.  Tiie 
same  writer  says  that  Thomas  Person,  of  Granville,  and  seve- 
ral other  intelligent  and  influential  men  were  hearty  in  the  cause  ; 
but,  for  prudential  reasons,  were  not  at  the  battle  ;  and  he  tells 
lis  that  the  party  was  kept  up  in  the  legislature  until  the  Revo- 
lution. It  is  believed  that  Alexander  Martin,  who  was  after- 
wards' governor, of  the  State,  was  of  the  same  sentiments;  for 
lio  and  Dr.  Caldwell  were  very  intimate,  and,  if  my  informatiou 
^V  be  correct,  the  Dr.  was  favorable  to  the  cause  of  the  Regulators, 
but  not  to  some  of  their  measures.  From  the  commencement 
of  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  her  American  colo- 
nies he  had  advocated  the  cause  of  freedom  ;  and  in  his  war 
sermon,  which  is  published  at  the  end  of  this  volume,  he  calls 
those  who  resisted  the  Stamp  Act,  as  they  were  every  where 
called,  by  way  of  distinction,  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  He  not 
only  procured  all  the  publications  that  were  within  his  reach 
respecting  the  right  of  the  mother  country  to  tax  her  colonies 
Avithout  their  consent,  but  the  charters  and  laws  of  North  Car- 
olina ;  and  took  same  pains  to  instruct  his  people  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  rights;  He  knew  that  the  people  had  just  cause 
of  complaint;  but  thought  it  unwise  in  their  circumstances  to 
wage  an  open  war  against  the  government.  So  did  many  oth- 
ers ;  and  all  who  viewed  the  matter  in  this  light,  cither  remained 
neutral,  or  exerted  what  influence  they  could  to  obtain  a  re- 
dress of  their  common  grievances  in  other  ways. 

The  indignation  of  the  people  had  become  §o  general  and  the 
weight  of  public  sentiment  so  great  that  the  oflicers  found  they 
must  submit ;  and  on  the  7th  of  M^rch,  1771,  the  sherifl",  clerk, 
register,  and  other  officers  of  the  county  of  Rowan,  met  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Regulators,  consisting  of  James  Hunter,  John  In- 
yard,  William  Welborn,Thos.  Fluke,  John  Cuny,  James  Wilson, 
S;iiiiuol  Woegoncr.  David   Gillespie.   James   Graham,   Iteury 


Lll'K  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  I  13 

Wade,  Peter  Julien,  Jeremiah  Fields,  John  Vickory,  Samuel 
Jones,  and  Joshua  Zagur.  At  this  meeting  the  officers,  agreed 
<'to  settle  with,  and  pay,  every  person  in  the  county,  any  and  all 
such  sum  or  sums  of  money,  as  they  or  their  deputies  had  taken 
through  inadvcrtancy  or  otherwise,  over  and  above  what  they 
severally  ought  to  have  taken  for  fees,  more  than  the  law  allow- 
ed them  to  receive,  without  any  trouble  or  law  for  the  recovery 
of  the  same ;"  and  the  committee  on  their  part  agreed  that,  "when 
any  doubt  should  arise,  all  persons  within  the  county  should 
give  in  their  demands  to  such  persons  as  should  be  appointed  by 
the  people  in  each  neighborhood  to  receive  the  same  and  be  de- 
termined by  gentlemen,  jointly  chosen  by  both  parties,  whose 
judgment  should  be  final."  The  persons  appointed  were  Mat- 
thew Locke,  Harmon  Husband,  James  Smith,  James  Hunter, 
Samuel  Young,  Thomas  Person,  John  Cain,  and  James  Graham; 
John  Frohawk,  clerk  of  the  county  court,  Thomas  Frohawk, 
clerk  of  the  superior  court,  John  Erawley,  register,  Griffith  Ruth- 
erford, sheriff,  William  Frohawk,  his  deputy  ;  Beiijamin  Miller, 
Andrew  Ellison,  Francis  Locke,  WiUiam  T.  Coles,  former  sher- 
iffs ;  Alexander  Martin  and  John  Dunn.  They  agreed  to  meet 
on  the  3d  Tuesday  in  May ;  but  whether  the  meeting  took 
place  or  not  I  have  seen  no  mention. 

It  is  said,  though  there  is  no  record  of  the  fact,  that  such  a 
meeting  took  place  in  the  western  part  of  Guilford  county,  where 
restitution  was  actually  made  to  the  people  in  that  section  ;  and 
that  a  subsequent  day  was  appointed  for  the  sg-me  purpose  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county ;  but  the  meeting  was  prevented 
by  an  event  as  unexpected  as  it  was  disastrous.  There  was,  at 
this  time,  a  fair  prospect  that  all  difficulties  would  soon  be  ad- 
justed, at  least  so  far  as  to  restore  peace  and  quiet;  but  the  plan 
of  pacification  thus  happily  begun  was  frustrated  by  the  conduct 
of  the  haughty  and  imperious  governor,  and  of  those  who  were 
under  his  influence,  or  who  harmonized  with  him  in  his  views. 
A  special  court  of  oyer  and  terminer  was  held  at  Newbern,  on 
the  1 1th  of  March,  under  the  late  act  of  assembly,  where  bills  of 
indictment  were  found  against  William  Butler,  John  Gappen, 
Samuel  Divinney,  James  Ilunter,  Matthew  Hamilton,  and  Red- 
nap  Howel,  for  riotously  and  feloniously  breaking  the  house  of 


1  11  LIFE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

Edmund  Fanning  on  the  25th  of  September,  1770;  and  others 
against  the  same  persons  and  Harmon  Husband,  John  Frost, 
Eli  Branson,  Thomas  H.  Smith,  James  Lowe,  Daniel  Smith, 
Jeremiah  Fields,  John  Gugle,  WiUiam  Dunn,  Henry  Litterman, 
Thomas  Welborn,  Ninian  B.  Hamilton,  Peter  Craven,  Wilham 
Paygee,  Robinson  Yorke,  Reuben  Sanderson,  James  Bignour 
James  Haridon,  Samuel  Culbertson,  and  Patrick  Crayton,  for  an 
assault  on  John  Williams,  at  Hillsborough,  on  the  24th  of  Sept. 
1 770.  To  say  nothing  of  the  injustice  and  hardship,  (in  view  of 
all  tlie  circumstances,)  of  thus  arraigning  and  trying  men  at  a 
<^istance  of  two*,or  three  hundred  miles  from  home,  and  among 
entire  strangers,  before  the  court  adjourned,  an  association  paper 
was  drawn  up,  which  was  signed  by  the  governor,  the  members 
of  the  council,  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  assembly,  the  grand 
jury,  and  other  persons  of  respectability,  by  which  the  subscri- 
bers solemnly  engaged  "  to  support  government  against  the  in- 
surgents, at  the  risk  of  their  lives  and  fortunes,  and  to  adopt  ev- 
ery salutary  measure  in  their  power,  for  restoring  peace  and 
tranquility,  and  enforcing  a  due  execution  of  tlie  laws  of  the 
province.  The  paper  was  then  circulated  in  Craven  county 
wlier^  it  was  generally  sighed  by  the  inhabitants ;  and  similar 
papers  Avere  circulated  in  other  counties  £i,round  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, which  also  obtained  many  signatures.  This  seems  to 
have  been  viewed  by  the  people  in  the  upper  counties  generally 
as  putting  an  end  to  all  lenient  measures  for  restoring  peace,  or 
as  leaving  them  no  liope  but  in  their  own  resources ;  and  acts  of 
vjolence  were  again  committed. 

The  next  hews  they  heard  was  that  Tryon  had  taken  up  the 
hne  of  march  ;  and  was  on  his  way  at  the  head  of  an  army  to 
subdue  them  by  force.  He  had  coipmenced  the  organization 
of  an  army  in  March' by  issuing  orders  to  the  colonels  in  all  the 
counties,  in  which  the  Regulators  were  not  predominant,  to  have 
)ne  company  of  fifty' jnen  from  each  regiment,  well  officered  and 
ready  to  march  when  called  on ;  and  on  the  24th  of  April,  he 
[narched  from  Ncvvbern  at  the  head  of  300  men,  a  small  train  of 
irtillery  with  a  number  of  baggage  wagons,  and  attended  by 
a  posse  of  his  friends.  He  waa  joined  by  detachments  from  dif- 
f(  rent  counties  as  he  advanced  ;  and  havin?  halted  at  Iluntcr's' 


LIFK  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.H.  H  5 

lodge  in  Wake  county  where  he  arrived  on  the  4th  of  May,  lie 
ordered  a  party  to  attend  the  sherifi'  in  levying  the  fines  due 
from  the  men  who  had  attended  a  muster  of  the  militia  without 
arms,  on  the  preceeding  day,  and  in  collecting  tho  taxes  due  in 
the  neighborhood,  except  from  those  who  had  joijied  tl>e  army 
as  volunteers.  When  he  left  Newhern  the  infantry  was  com- 
manded by  Col.  Joseph  Leech,  the  artillery  by  Capt,  Moore, 
and  a  company  of  rangers  by  Capt.  Neal ;  and  before  he  arrived 
at  Eno,  he  had  been  joined  by  a  detachment  from  New  Hanover, 
under  the  command  of  Col.  John  Ashe,'  another  from  Onslow 
under  Col.  Richard  Caswell,  another  from.  Carteret  under  Col. 
Craig,  another  from  Johnston  under  Col.  William  Thompson, 
another  from  Beaufort  under  Col.  Needham  Bryan,  one  from 
Wake  under  Col.  John  Hinton,  and  at  his  camp  on  Eno,  a  few 
miles  from  Hillsborough,  he  received  a  considerable  re-inforcc- 
ment  from  Orange,  composed  of  clerks,  constables,  coroners,  bro- 
ken down  sheriffs,  and  other  materials  of  a  similar  kind,  und^r 
the  command  of  his  friend  Col.  Fanning.  Gen.  Hugh  Waddel, 
who  had  been  appointed  commander  of  all  the  forces,  was  di- 
rected to  march  with  the  division  from  Bladen,  Cumberland,  and 
the  western  counties.  These  foi^ces  were  to  rendezvous  at  Sa- 
lisbury on  the  2d  of  May,  and  to  join  the  militia  from  the  south- 
ward and  eastward  in  Guilford  eoimty,  on  the  13th.  While  he 
was  waiting  in  Salisbury  for  a  supply  of  powder  from. Charleston, 
the  Regulators  fell  upon  the  convoy,  if  I  mistake  not,  in  what  is 
now  Cabarrus  county^  and  destroyed  the  powder.-  He  took  up 
his  line  of  march,  however,  from  Salisbury;  butliaving  crossed 
the  Yadkin,  he  received  a  message  from  the  Regulators  next  day, 
not  to  advance  any  further.  To  this  he  replied  that  he  should 
take  the  liberty  of  using  the  public  highway;  but  finding  thai 
the  Regulators  were  assembled  in  great  force  at  a  small  dis- 
tance in  front,  he  called  a  council  of  his  officers  in  their  camp 
at  Potts'  creek,  May  10th,  1771,  whpn  it  was  determined  to  re- 
treat across  the  Yadkin.  Tho  Regulators  however,  contrived, 
to  entangle  him  in  a  skirmish ;  and  being  superior  in  numbers, 
they  surrounded  his  small  army,  and  took  many  of  them ;  but 
he  escaped  himself  with  a  few  of  his  followers  to  Salisbury. — . 
He  had  been  for  some  time  in  that  region  ;  and  having  espoused 
10 


1  K)  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

llie  oanse  of  the  government  with  some  zeal,  he  was  much  dis- 
liked by  the  people.  Many  of  the  men  under  liis  command, 
were  more  fiivorable  to  the  RegulatoTs,  than  tiiey  were  to  the 
govermiient  ;'aind  a  constant  intercourse  had  been  kept  up  be- 
tween them.  From,  Salisbury  lie  sent  an  express  to  Governor 
Tryon,  informing  him  of  his  flight,  and  other  circiuiistances, 
wJiich  arrived  before  he  leTt  his  camp  on  the  Eno ;  and  it  made 
him  hasten  liis  movemeiits.  The  situation  of  Tryon  was  at  this 
time  becoming  very  critical ;  for  news  had  now  reached  him, 
that  the  Regulators  were  assembling  in  great  numbers,  with  the 
intention  'of  standing  in  their  own  defence ;  and  the  troops  on 
whom  he  relied,  were  considerably  reduced  in  number.  The 
nieh  in  Duplin  county,  except  perlraps  a  small  troop  of  cavalry, 
had  nobly  refused  to  march  against  the  Regulators  at  all ;  and  . 
many  who  came  from  other  counties  were  either  so  reluctant  to 
shed  the  blood  of  their  fellow  citizens,  or  were  so  well  affected 
to  their  cause,  that  the)'-  deserted,  while  the  Regulators  were  in- 
creasing every  hour.  In  this  situation  nothing  could  save  his 
excelleticy  but  a  bqld  and  expeditious  stroke ;  for  to  hesitate 
was  to  suffer  a  certain  defeat ;  and  iii  the  promptitude  and  en- 
ergy of  his  subsequent  movements,  he  displayed  a  gpod  deal  of 
generalsliip.  He  immediately  toiok  up  the  line  of  march ;  crossed 
Haw  river  on- the  13th;  and  the  next  evening  pitched  his  camp 
on  the  banks  of  the  Alamance.  While  encaipped  liere,  one  third 
of  the  army  was  ordered  to  remain  under  arms  the  whole  night, 
to  he  relieved  every  two  hours ;  and  the  same  was  done  the  next 
night;  hut  with  the  additional  precaution  that  the  cavalry  were 
U)  k'cep  their  horses  saddled  during  the  night,  and  a  guard  of  ten 
men  at  about  half  a  mile  in  front,  or  towards  the  encampment  of 
the  Regulators.  That  they  were  not  seditious,  or  had  no  other 
design  than  to  obtain  relief  from  what  they  regarded  as  down- 
right oppression,  is  evident,  from  the  fact  that  on  the  15th  they 
•sent  a  messenger  to  tjie  govern<?r  with  a  petition^  that  he  would 
j'cdrcss  -the  grievances  of  the  people,  as  the  only  means  of  pre- 
Venthig  the  bloodshed  which,  from  the  ardor  of  the  leaders  on 
both  sides,  must  otherwise  ensue;  and  they  desired  an  answer 
'ill  four  hours;,  but  instead  of  giving,  them  any  satislaCtion,  he 
■gem  back  the  messenger,  With  a  promise  that  he  would  give 


LIFL  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  1-17 

them  an  answer  next  day  by  noon.  In  the  evening  of  tlic  15lh 
Col.  John  Ash  and  Capt.  John  Walker,  being  out  on  a  scouting 
party,  were  apprehended,  "  tugged  up  to  trees,  severely  whipped, 
and  made  prisoners."  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  result  of 
personal  animosity  on  the  part  of  one  or 'two  individuals,  which 
was  strongly  censured  by  the  great  body  of  the  Regulators,  and 
some  of  them  were  so  much  disgusted  that  they  thereatened  to 
give  up  the  cause  entirely,  if  such  acts  were  repeated  ;  but  they 
caused  much  alarm  in  the  governor's  camp, and  especially  in  the 
breast  of  Col.  Fanning ;  for  "  his  soul  had  these  things  still  in 
remembrance,  and  therefore  his  spirit  was  overwhelmed  within 
him."  The  two  armies  encamped  on  the  night  of  the  l^tli 
within  five  or  si^c  miles  of  each  other,  t^ie  Regulators  being  on 
or  near  the  battle  ground^  and  on  the  morning  of  the  16tli,  Try- 
on  had  his  army  in  motion  by  break  of  day,  and  nlarched  in  per- 
fect/silence, leaving  their  tents  standing,  and  the  baggage  and- 
wagons  in  the  camp,  the  wag(3n  horses  being  kept  in  the  gears, 
and  the  whole  under  a  guard  commanded  by  Col.  Bryan.— 
When  they  got  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Regulators,  they  halted 
and  formed  the  line  of  battle,  which  was  done  by  arranging  them 
in  two  hues,  about  a  hundred  yards  apart,  with  the  artillery  in 
the  centre  of  the  front  line. 

In  this  account  I  have  hitherto  followed  Martin  chicliy,  some- 
times taking  the  statements  of  Williamson  and  Jones,  though 
without  an  express  reference  to  either  of  them,  as  tliat  seemed 
to  be  unnecessary  ;  but  it  is  time  now  toJakesome  notice  of  the 
other  side.  These  histories  give  Try  on  ten  or  eleven  hundred 
men ;  and  tradition  says  that  several  hundred  of  these  were 
regular  soldiers ;  but  of  this  I  have  seen  no  notice  in  history, 
unless  the  three  hundred  with  which  he  left  Newbern  were  of 
this  description,  and  perhaps  the  artillery  company.  The  Regu- 
lators could  not  have  had,  it  is  believed,  more  than  a  thousand, 
who  were  furnished  with  arms  at  all  suitable  for  such  an  occa- 
sion, though  there  may  have  been  as  many  as  two  thousand  on 
the  ground  ;  for  a  great  many  went  there  not  expecting  to  have 
any  use  for  arms.  The  majority  certainly  did  not  expect  that 
there  would  be  any  blood  shed  ;  and  therefore  many  who  start- 
ed with  their  suns  left  them  bv  the  way,  cither  hid  in  hollow 


J.IS  Lli'E  OF  DAVID  CALDWJiLL,  D.D 

ti-ees  or  deposited  \^ith  their  friends,  until  they  returned ;  be- 
cafisc  some  wiseacre  had  said,  "  if  you  take  your  guns,  the-gov- 
ornor  \yill  not  treat  with  you."  It  is  doubtful  whether  even 
riarnioa  Husband  really  wished  to  fight:  In  fact  I  have  been 
told  by  some  who  knew  him  well  in  their  youth  and  who  were 
at  this  time  18  or  20  years  of  age,  that  his  Quaker  principles 
would  not  let  him  fight;  and  that  when  he  saw  the  "  tug  of 
war*'  would  come,  or  about  the  time  the  governor  began  to  fire 
on  them,  he  mounted  his  l)ors^  and  rode  away.  It  is  believed 
by  many  that  his  aim  was  to  carry  his  point  by  making  such  a 
display  of  numbers  and  by  manifesting  such  a  determined  spirit 
that  the  ^yernor  would  be  obliged  to.  yield  ;  and  that  if  he  had 
succeeded  in  collecting  the  people  in^such  numbers,  and  in  hav- 
ing them  so  well  armed  as  to  make  the  impression  which  he 
wished,  he  would  have  given  this  explanation  of  his  awn  mo- 
tives and  conduct.  However  this  may  have  been,  it  is  certam 
lliat  many  Avent-  to  the  place  of  meeting,  not  from  an  idle  curios- 
ity, nor  with  a  blood  thirsty  intent,  but  from  a  desire  to  see  the 
result ;  others  were  actuated  by  the  higher  motive  of  using  what 
influence  they  could  towards  effecting  a, reconciliation  ;  and  of 
-this  latter  class  Dr.  Caldwell  was  one.  It  was  a  trying  time  to 
his  feelings ;  for  a  large  proporlion  of  the  men  m  his  congrega- 
tions were  Regulators.  They  had  attended  the  meetings  and 
united  in  most  of  the  measures  that  had  bpen  adopted  for  ob- 
taining a  redress  .of  -their  greivances  in  a  regular  way  ;  but  so 
far  asi  can  learn,  they  were  not  concerned  in,  the  acts  of  vio- 
lence that  were  committed,  and  it  is  believed  that  none  of  them 
were  ever  indicted  for  being  concerned  in  any  of  the  riots.  As 
the  Regulators  knew  that  they  could  not  fight  the  governor  with 
any  hope  of  success  without  cannon,  runners  were  sent  out  in 
every  direction,  on  the  news  of  liis  approach,  to  collect  as  ma- 
ny as  possible,  with  a  view  6f  presenthig  to  the  governor  such 
an  array  of  numbers  as  would  make  him  feel  the  necessity  of  a 
compromise";  and  the  people  of  these  congregations  obeyed  the 
summons.  Although  they  went  not  expecting  to  fight,  yet  they 
carried  their  gims,  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of  doing  wherever 
tliey  went,  being  resolved,  like  many  others,  that  "their  life  and 
?ht:ir  sun  should  20  toarether;"  and  when  there,  manv  of  them 


LJFE  OF  DAVIP  CALDWELL,  CD.  149 

having  too  much  mettle  to  be  mere  spectators  when  others  were 
shedding  their  blood  or  risking  their  life  in  what  was  regarded  as 
a  just  cause,  they  united  with  them,  and  fought  as  bravely  as  any 
on  the  ground.  Before  they  left  home  they  requested  Dr.  Cald- 
well to  go  along  and  use  his  influence  in  effecting  a  reconciliation. 
He  accordingly  went  down  the  day  before  the  battle,  in  company 
with  Alexander  Martin,  who  was  afterwards  governor  of  the 
State, and  with  the  sheriff  of  the  county  ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  had. 
an  interview  that  evening  with  Tryon  at  his  camp  ;  but  of  what 
passed,  if  such  an  interview  took  place,  nothing  is  known.  Next 
morning  however,  it  is  known  that  he  passed  back  and  forward 
two  or  three  times  from  one  side  to  the  other,  endeavoring  to  pre- 
vent a  collision  ;  and  obtained  from  Tryon  a  promise  that  he 
would  not  proceed  to  extremeties  or  fire  on  the  Regulators  until 
he  had  made  a  fair  trial  of  what  could  be  done  by  negotiation. 
This  is  not  a  matter  of  record,  but  it  is  from  such  a  source  that  I 
cannot  doubt  its  truth. 

The  accounts  of  the  battle  and  of  the  transactions  inirnediately 
preceding  it,  as  given  in  the  common  histories  of  the  country, 
differ  considerably  from  the  statements  made  by  Regulators  who 
Avere  present ;  and  some  of  these  statements,though  only  omitted 
and  not  contradicted  by  history,  seem  to  be  so  well  attested  as  to 
be  entitled  to  credit.  Martin  says  that  when  Tryon  formed  his  line 
of  battle,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  the  scene  of  action, 
and  the  signal  for  which  was  the  discharge  of  three  cannons,  he 
sent  the  Regulators  a  message,  in  reply  to  their  petition  the  day 
before,  the  purport  of  which  was,  that  he  had  nothing  to  offer 
them,  but  required  their  immediate  submission  to  government,  a 
promise  that  they  would  pay  their  taxes,  and  return  forthwith 
to  their  respective  homes,  with  a  solemn  assurance  that  they 
would  not  protect  the  individuals  who  were  indicted, from  trial; 
that  he  would  allow  them  one  hour  to  consider,  after  which,  if 
they  did  not  yield  and  accept  his  proposals,  the  consequences 
which  might  follow,  must  be  imputed  to  them  alone ;  that  on 
the  arrival  of  the  messenger  at  the  camp  of  the  Regulators,  they 
he^jtd  the  reading  of  the  governor's  answer  to  their  petition  with 
impatience,  bid  him  return  to  Billy  Tryon,  and  tell  him  they  de- 
fied him,  for  battle  was  all  they  wanted ;  that,  although  their 


150  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELl.,  D.n 

leaders  prevailed  on  them  to  listen  to  a  second  reading  of  the 
paper,  they  expressed  their  impatience  for  battle  with  the  most 
violent  imprecations ;  that  on  the  return  of  the  messenger,  while 
Tryon  marched  to  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  Regulators' 
camp,  they  advanced  at  the  same  time  to  a  certain ,  point  in  the 
road,  when  they  halted  Ijliewise,  and  waved  their  hats  as  a  chal- 
lenge for  him  to  advance  ;  that  lie  then  sent  a  magistrate  and  an 
pilicer,  with  a  proclamation,  commaiiding  them  to  disperse  with- 
in one  hour;  but  that  they  disdained  to  listen  to  the' magistrate 
when  he  read  it  aloud  in  front  of  their  lines,  and  cried  out  battle, 
battle!  All  tlie  histories  represent 'the  Regulators  as  eager  for 
the  contest ;  and  as  acting  more  like  maniacs  than  men  who 
were  conscious  that  their  present  comfort,  and  even  their  life, 
Vv'as  at  stake. 

The  accounts  of  this  transaction  vary  so  mueh,  that  it  is,  diffi- 
cult to  reconcile  the  discrepancies  which  are  found  even  in  the 
same  history.  During  the  hour  that  Tryon  gave, the,  Regulators 
to  determine  whether  they  would  submit  to.  the  terms  of  his 
proclamation  or  not,  a  proposition  was  made  for  an  exchange  of 
prisoners,  of  whom  he  had  seven,  and  the  Regulators  two,  John 
Ashe  and  John  Walker.  Jones  says,  ",  while  the  parley  was  go- 
ing on  for  this  purpose,  the  impatience  of  the  armies  was  so 
great,  that  the  leaders  made  a  simultaneous  movement,  and  led 
on  to  battle,"  but  in  tlie  very  next^jsentence  he  says,  "  The  two 
armies  marched  with  the  most  profound  silence;  and  such  was 
the  indis-jjonition  oi  QiXhex  side  to  fight,  thai  iheizxiXis  passed 
each  other,  and  were  then  compelled,  by  a  short  retreat,  to  re- 
gain their  respective  places."  He  represents  the  contending 
parties  as  standing  at  the  distance  of  25  yards  apart,  and  occu- 
pying the  solemn  hour  before  battle  with  a  verbal  quarrel ;  the 
Regulators  as  shaking  their  clenclicd  hands  at  the  governor  and 
Col.  Fanning,  vvalkii]g  up  to  the  artillery  with  open^bosoms,  and 
defying  them  to  fire  ;  and  each  loyal  soldier,  or  each  one  of  th<; 
king's  forces,  as  "  too  busily  engaged  either  in  an  argument,  or 
a  fist  fight,"  to  pay  any  attention  when  "the  go vfrnor  roared 
out  the  word  of  command,  directing  them  to  fire."  Martin 
makes  nearly  the  same  statements.  He  says  that  the  opposing 
forces  advanced  in  silence  till  tlmy  met,  almost  breast  to  breast, 


LIFE  OF  DAVI.JD  CALUWK;L.m),C,  l')l 

the  governor  having  forbidden  his  men  to  fir^e  until  he  ordered 
them;  the  first  rank  of  the  governor's  men  were  alnwst  mixed 
with  those  of  the  Regulators,  who  were  stationed  a  little  before 
the  main  body,  and  who  now  began  to  retreat  slowly,  to  join  the 
army,  "  bellowing  defiance  and  daring  their  opponents  to  ad- 
vance ;  and  that  the  army,  meaning  Tryon's  army,  kept  on  till 
within  25  yards  of  them,  and  then  hahed,  the  Regulators  con- 
tinuing to  call  on  him,  to  order  his  men  to  fire,  several  of  them 
advancing  at  the  same'  time  towards  the  artillery,  opening  their 
breasts,  and  defying  them  to  begin.  Healso  represents  the  gov- 
ernor as  commencing  the  action  before,  the  -hour  had  expired, 
because,  the  Regulators  being  tardy  in  making  known  their  de- 
cision oti  the  proposal  for  .an  exchange  of  prisoners,  his  men  be- 
came so  impatient  to  advance,  that  he  thought  it  advisable  to 
lead  them  on  ;*  but  m  the  next  paraghaph  he  tells  us  that  it  was 
with  the  utmost  difiiculty  his  men  could  be  induced  to  fire  at 
all,t  though  additional  provocations  had  been  given. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  a  iew  who  were  hot  headed  or  under 
the  influence  of  spirits,  may  have  acted  in  the  manner  above  de- 
scribed ;  for  Tryon  had  so  often  made  promises  and  threats 
w;ithout  fulfilling,  either  that  what  he,  said  was  probably  not 
much  regarded ;  ,but  I  have  received  no  such  statements  from 
men  who  were  present,  either  under  arms  or  as  spectators;  An 
old  gentleman  of  respectability  informed  me  that  in  the  extreme 
part  of  the  Regulation  army  to  the  westward,  where  a  near  re- 
lative of  his  was  stationed,  they  were  stretching  themselves 
along  the  side  of  the  road  as  far  a^  they  could,  in  order  to  let 
the  governor,  when  he,  came  by,  see  ho^  many  there  were  ;  and 
that  they  were  looking  for  him  every  moment  to  pass  along,  as 
on  a  review,  or  in  a  friendly  way,  when  the  guns  began  to  fire. 
An  old  Regulator  with  whom  I  conversed  last  fall,  told  me  that 
in  the  part  of  the  army,  if  it  might  be  called  such,  where  ho 
\vas,  the  younger  part  of  the  men  were  all  engaged  in  the  ath- 
letic exercises,  wrestling,  jumping,  &e.,  and  that  lie  was  himself 
engaged  ill  wrestling  with  another  ybung  man,  when  Patrick 
Mullen,  an  old  Scotchman  who  had  been  in  the  British  service 
before  he  came  to  America,  but  was  now  a  Regulator,  came  up 
•Vol.  2,  p. 291.    ^Vol.  1.  p.  2^52.    Jcioc&'s  Defenc^p,  p.  5:?. 


152  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL^  D.D. 

and  told  them,  with  a  look  and  a  tone  of  firmness,  to  put  them- 
selves into  some  order,  for  they  would  be  fired  on  in  a  very  few 
minutes.  About  this  time  Dr.  Caldwell  rode  up  in  front,  and 
commenced  making  a  speech  to  them,  the  purport  of  which  was 
that  those  of  them  who  were  not  too  far  committed  should  de- 
sist and  quietly  return  home ;  that  those  who  had  laid  them- 
selves liable  should  submit  without  further  resistance,  promising 
that  he  and  others  would  obtain  for  them  the  best  terms  they 
could ;  and  that  they  liad  all  better  wait  -until  circumstances 
would  be  more  favorable ;  for  the  governor,  as  it  seemed,  was 
determined  to  yield  nothing,  and  unprepared  as  they  were,  hav- 
ing no  cannon,  not  much  ammunition,  no  military  discipline,  and 
no  officers  to  command  them,  they  must  sustain  a  defeat ;  but 
before  he  finished,  the  old  Scotchman  called  out  to  him  that  he 
had  better  go  away,  or  the  governor's  men  would  fire  on  him  in 
three  minutes.  He  then  rode  off ;  but  had  scarcely  got  out  of 
sight  when  the  firing  commenced. 

Before  Tryon  ordered  his  men  to  commence  the  attack,  he 
sent  an  adjutant  to  receive  Ashe  and  Walker,  but  having  repor- 
ted the  answer  of  the  Regulators,  that  these  men  would  be  sur- 
rendered within  half  an  hour,  he  was  sent  back  to  inform  them 
that  the  governor  would  wait  no  longer,  and  that  if  they  did  not 
lai/  down  their  ai^ns  immediately,  they  should  be  fired  on. — 
The  answer  was^  fire  and  be  d — n'd.  He  then  ordered  his  men 
to  fire  ;  but  they  did  not  seem  disposed  to  obey.  When  he  per- 
ceived this,  rising  on  his  stirrups  and  turning  to  them,  he  called 
out,  "  fire,  fire  on  them  or  on  me,"  when  the  action  began,  and 
almost  immediately  became  general.  Such  is  Martin's  account, 
Avhich  is  probably  that  of  the  governor  or  of  his  party  ;  but  it 
differs  so  much,  as  to  the  commencement  of  the  action,  from  the 
statement  of  the  Regulators,  that  they  ought  at  least  to  be  heard. 
According  to  their  account,  Tryon  himself  shot  the  first  gun,  and 
killed  the  first  man.  Some  time  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  as 
has  been  already  stated,  he  gave  Dr.  Caldwell  a  promise  that  he 
would  not  fire  on  the  Regulators  until  he  had  fairly  tried  what 
could  be  done  by  negotiation ;  but  negotiation  was  not  in  Ids 
thoughts  ;  for  he  offered  them  no  otlier  terms  than  unconditional 
submission.     Ti.c  writer  in  the  Weekly  Time"?  savs  that  "  thf 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDVVKLL,  D.D.  l')3 

Regulators  sent  Dr.  Caldwell  into  the  goveriioi's  linos  in  order 
to  effect  a  compromise ;  and  that  Robert  Thompson*  and  Ro- 
bert Mateer  had  gone  there  on  the  same  business  ;  that  the  Dr. 
was  permitted  to  return  to  tlie  Regulators  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
forming them  that  nothing  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  compro- 
mise, the  governor  being  determined  not  to  recede  from  the  terms 
of  his  proclamation,  while  the  other  two  were  detained  as  pris- 
oners; and  that  when- Thompson  attempted  soon  after  to  go 
away  without  leave,  observing  that  as  he  had  come  in  peacea- 
bly ho  had  a  right  to  return,  the  governor  seized  a  gun  from 
some  one  who  stood  near,  and  shot  him  with  his  own  hand. — 
That  Tryon  shot  Thompson  himself,  and  shot  him  before  the  ac- 
tion between  the  two  armies  commenced,  there  is  no  doubt-,  for 
it  is  sustained  by  tlie  concordant  testirnony  df  all  the  Regulators 
with  whom  the  writer  has  ever  conversed ;  and  Maurice  Moore, 
in  his  letter,  to  Tryon  says :  "  I  can  freely  forgiye  ybuysir,  for 
killing  Robert  Thompson  at  the  beginning- oi  the  battle :  he 
was'^onr  prisoner,  aiid  was  making  his  escape  to  fight  against 
you."  Moore  not  having  been  present,  wrote  from  hearsay, 
perhaps  from  the  private  statements  of  the  governor  or  some  of 
his  party;  and  it  is  believed  that  .he  was  under  a  mistake  as  to 
Thompson's  motive  in  attempting  to  escape.  He  had  gone  to 
the  place  of  meetmg,  like  many  others,  without  any  expectation 
of  fighting;  he  had  not  put  himself  in  the  ranks, of  those  who 
were  arrayed  as  combatants;  nor  was  he  etven  armeel  with  a 
gun  or.  any  deadly  weapon,  but  he  and  Mateer  tiad  both  gone 
to  the  governor, — whether  deputed  or  not  is  unknown  to  the 
writer, — -for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  obtain  a 'friendly  .adjust- 
ment of  the.  existing  difficulties.  His  leaving  was,  therefore, 
not  an  escape^  but  a  retiring  in  the  conscious  dignity  of  a  free-, 
man.  Being  a  bold  independent  kind  of  a  maa,  however,  and 
accustomed  to  express  liimself  v/ithout  much  reflection  or  regard 
to  the  rules  of  etiquette,  his  excellency  may  have  construed  his 
manner  of  expression  as  an  insult ;  and  in  a  fit  of  passion  tOok 

*The  communication  in  the  Weekly  Times  has  appended  toil  the  follow- 
ing- note  :  '•  RobeH  Thompson,  the  first  man  who  fell  in  the  battle,  was  the 
{jrand father  of  Newton  Cannon,  the  present  governor  of  Tennessee,  General 
Robert  Cannon,  ot  ShelbyviUe,  Jacob  Wright,  Etq.,  of  Rutherford  county, 
John  ThonipsoD,  of  Davidson  conntv,  and  Andrew  Ilvncy,  of  Nashville." 
20 


I  ■)4  LIFE  OJ"  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

his  lite.  As  if  conscious  that  he  was  chargeable  with  a  flagrant 
violation  of  gpod  faith  he  soon  sent  out  a  white  flag ;  but  the 
Regulators,  in  a  spirit  of  revenge  for  the  death  of  Thompson,  by 
which  they  considered  that  Tryon  had  violated  his  promise  to 
Dr.  Caldwell,  instantly' shot  it  down,  or  shot  at  the  bearer,  and 
the  flag  disappeared  ;  but  whether  he  was  really  killed  or  notj 
was  perhaps  never  ascertained. 

It  is  strange  that  historians  have  not  noticed  either  of  the 
facts,  that  the  governor  *hot  Thompson,  or  that  he  sent  out  any 
flags  ;  and  yet  both  seem  to  be  well  attested.  Regulators  have 
generally  said  that  he  sent  out  two  flags  at  diflerent  times,  both 
of  which  were  shot  down;  but  the  second  "one  will  come  into 
notice  presently.  So  lar  as  I  can  reconcile  the  accounts  given  in 
diflerent  histories  one  with  another,  and  these  with  what  ap- 
pears to  be  authentic  tratlition^ it  wasdirectly  after  the  first  flag 
was  shot  down  that  Tryori  commanded  his  men  to  fire.'  The 
men  seemed  disposed  not  to  obey ;  and  "his  situation  was  ex- 
tremely critical.  It  was  citizen  against  citizen  ;  and  no  wonder 
that  they  were  reluctant  to  commence  the  work  of  destruction. 
But  some  bold  measure  \yas  necessary ;  for  the  Rubicon  wa,s 
passed;, blood  had  been  shed;  to  hesitate  would  be  instant  ruin  ; 
but  to  go  forward  with  intrepidity  mig^ht  be  followed  by  suc- 
cess. Then,  probably,  it  was,  that  rising  in  his  stirrups  and  turn- 
ing to  his  mea,  he  called  upon  tbem,in  all  the  earnestness  of  des- 
paration,  to  fire  on  the  Regulators  or  on  him.  Some  ventured 
to  obey  ;  and  that  emboldened  the  re§t.  The'  work  of  destruc- 
tion \yas  then  plied  with  vigor  on  both  sides  ;  for  men  general- 
ly find  a  Rubicon  in  every  thing  ;  and  whether  induced  or  for- 
ced over  that,  when  it  is  once  passed,  there  is  no  return. 

The  governor's  party  had  greatly  the  advantage-as  to  arms, 
ammunition,  and  military  discipline  ;  but  the  Regulators  com- 
pelled them  to  remain  in  the  road,  just  where  they  wished  them 
to  be,  while  they  occupied  a  more  advantageous  position,  and 
nearly  every  man  was  ensconced  behind  a  tree.  Jones  says 
^•tlKitthe  artillery  was  idle  for  the  Jir^t  Ao?/r,  •durii^g  which 
time  the  conflict  was  equal  and-well  sustained."  Martin  says, 
"'The  insurgents,  pursuing  the,  Indian  made  .of  fightiiig,  did 
Gofisiderable  injury  to  the  king's  troops;  but  owing  totlie  artil- 


LIFE  OP  UAVII)    CALDWELL,  D.D.  155 

Jery,  and  firmness  of  the  latter,  were,  after  a  conllict  of  one 
hour,  struck  with  a  panic  and  fled."  Williamson  says  that  the 
engagement  coTnmenced 'wiih  tlie  discharge  oi  five  cannon; 
that  "  Col.  Fanning,  who  commanded  tlie  left  whig,  unused  to 
action  and  deficient  in  courage,  fell  back  with  the  whole  of  his 
regiment,  except  Capt,  Nash  and  his  company  5"  and  that  "in 
the  mean  time  the  cannon  did  great  execution."  The  writer  ia 
the  Weekly  Timesspeaks  of  the  havoc  made  by  the  cannon  in 
terms  of  great  exaggeration ;  but  he  is  evidently  mistaken  in 
many  of  his  statements.  The  account  of  MacPherson  is  here 
given  in  full,  because  he  was  present  during  the  whole  conflict, 
and  because"  it  accords,  as  far  as  it  goes,  substantially  with  that 
of  other  Regulators.  "  The  next  day  it  ooon  the  battle  forces 
came  in  sight.  The  governor's  aid*,  came  forward  first  to  the 
Regulators  and  read  a  proclamation.  (MacPherson  stood  near 
him.)  The  Regulators  required  an  hour  to  return,  an  answer. 
The  rnessejiger '  wheeled  his  horse  and  returned  to  his  own 
friends ;  and  the  firing  immediately  comraenced  on  the  part  of 
Try  on  with  the  cannon.  He' had  four  small  swivels  and  two 
six  pounders.  At  the  first  fire  the  balls  struck  the  ground  some 
distance  in  front  of  the  Regulators;  and  MacPherson  heard  one 
of  Tryon's  men  say, — '  I  told,  the  gunner  he  aimed  it  too  low.' 
The  next  shot  went  over  the  heads  of  those  at  whom  it  was 
aimed.  .After  the  first  fire  on  the  part  of  Tryon  the  Regulators 
commenced  an  irregular  fire  from  behind  trees,  and  had  the  bet- 
ter of  the  day.  The  other  side  fired  regularly  by  platoons. — 
Presently  a  flag  was  seen  advancing  from  Tryon's  side  of  the 
field.  The  meaningof  this  ho- body  knew  except  an  old  Scotch- 
n;ian  who  had  served  in  the  army;  and  who  called  out,  'it's  a 
flag,  don't  fire,'  Three  or  four  rifles  were  however  fired  ;  and 
the  flag  fell ;  but  whether  the  bearer  was  killed  was  not  known. 
The  fighting  now  began  again;  and  the  royalist  party  fell  back 
about  the  width  of  tlie  battle  "field,  that  is,  aboiit  one  hundred 
yards,  leaving  their  cannoU  behind.  Some  of  the  Regulators, 
among  whom  were  two  of  MacPherson's  brothers,  one  older 
and  one  younger  than  himself,  now  riished  forward  and  seized 
the  cannon  ;  but  when  they  got  them  they  had  no  ammunition. 
^^IMiiietnon  Hawkins,  \  presume,     See  Williamson,  vol.  2,  p.  148. 


158  MFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D, 

nor  did  they  know  how  to  work  theni.*  The  smoke  now  clea- 
red away^;  and  the  royalists  saw  that  there  was  oiily  a  small 
l)od5^  of  Regulators  on  the  ground,  the  rest  having  retired.— 
They- began  therefore  to  advance  for  the  purpose  of- surround- 
ing them,  which  the  Regulators  perceiving  took  to  their  heels 
and  the  battle  was  over." 

The  writer  in  the  Weekly  Times,  whose  testimony  is  here 
given  only  so  far  as  it  seems  to  be  corroborated  by  that  of  others, 
sfiys,' ."  there  was.  such  confusion,  as.  cannot  well  be  described. 
Somfe  who  had  no  guns  attempted  to  rally  tjiose  that  had;  and 
some  gave  up  their  guns  to  such  as  were  willing  to  face  the  en- 
emy. The  Regtilatorg  were  not  prepared  for  battle;  for  they 
had  no  liigher  officer  than  a  captain.  Montgomery,  who  com- 
manded a  company  of  mountain  boys,  was  considered  the  prin- 
cipal captain  ;  and  be  fell  about  the  second  fire  from  the  cannon. 
They. all. soon  fled  and' left  the. field  except,  James  Pugh  from 
Orange  county,  and-threc; other  men  who  had  taken  a. stand  near 
the  cannon.-  They  were  defended  by  a  large  tree  and  ledge  of 
rocks.  Although  half 'the  cannon  vyere  directed  against  them, 
theycould^not  be  driven  from  their  position,  until  they  hud  killed 
fifteen  or  sixteen  men.  who  managed  the  cannon.  Pugh  fired 
every  gun,  and  the  other  three  men  loaded  for  him ;  but  at- 
length  Ihey  were  surrounded.  Pugh  was  taken  prisoner :'  the 
othei\s  made  their  escape."  It  has  been  the  uniform  testimony 
of  the  Regulatory  in  this  section,  that  they  did  not  fly  uutil  their 
anmiunition  lailed ;t  and  this  was  probably  the  fact;  for  most 

*The  olvl  Rog-iilator,  before  alluded  to,  who  g-ave  me  an  account  of  tjie 
l;-jUle  lustfkll,  after  describing-  the  rcU-eal  of  the  governor's  men,  and  theta- 
.kinsr  of  the  artillery,  or  the  attempt  to  take  it,  by  ti^e  Kej,njiators,  in  which 
he  ag-reed  almost  exactly  with  the  statement  given  abme,  though  he  knew 
nothing  of^AlacPherson,  exclaimed  with  much  animation,  as  a  kind  ot'  seda- 
tive to  his  feelings,  '  O,  if  either  John  or  Daniel  Gillespie  Ivid  only  known  as 
much  about  military  discipline  then  as  they  knew  a  few  years  alter  that,  the 
bloody  T^yon  would  never  have  slept  in  his  palacie  again'' — The  statements 
of  no  one  man,  neither  MacPherson  nor  any  body  else,  are  given  in  this 
work  wlthoutsom'e  qualifying  expression,  unless  they  are  sustained  by  the 
testimony  of  others.  - 

t  An  old  man  who  was  then  about  17  years"  of  age,  told  the  vyriter  a  little 
more  1;han  a  year  ago  that  he  assisted  George  Parsons  in  moulding  his  bullets 
the  night  before  the. battle  ;  and  that  when  they  had  moulded  twelve  ihey 
Mnppodi     lie  then  observed  somewhat  jocosely  to  Parsons  that  it  he  shot  aill 

tho.-i'  hiilleL'-'.  and  did  execution  cvcrv  time,  lie  would  do  his  share.     .Parsons 


LIFE  OK  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  157 

of  them,  when  Ihey  left  liome,  did  not  expect  that  they  would  [ 
need  more  powder  and  lead  than  they  were  accustomed  to  take 
with  them  on  a  common  hunting  expedition. 

The  accounts  vary  very  much  as  to  the  number  of  killed  and 
Avounded.  Williamson  says  that  "  seventy  of  the  militia,"  mean- 
ing the  governor's  men,  "were  killed  or  wounded;'*  and  that 
"the  insurgents  lost  above  two  hundred."  JNIartin  says.  "The 
loss  of  the  governor  was  only  nine  killed,  and  si  Kty-one  wounded: 
that  of  the  insurgents  was  upwards  of  twenty  dead,  and  a'num- 
ber  wounded."  MacPherson  reverses  the  first  part  of  this  state- 
ment, and  says,  "  nine  Regulators  were  said  to  have  been  killed 
on  tite  ground,  and  a  great  number  wounded  ;  but  how  many  of 
the  royalist  party  were  killed  is  not  known.  The  account  which 
I  have  always  had  from  the  Regulators  and  other  old  men  in 
this  region  is  that  nine  of  their  men,  and  twenty-seven' of  the 
royalists  were  left  dead  on  the  field ;  but  how  many  were  woun- 
ded on  either  side  they  never  knew.  It  may  be  inferred  from  a 
statement  in  Williamson*  which  was  probably  from  an  official 
communication,  that  Tryon  lost  more  men  tl;an  are  reported  by 
Martin.  He  says,  "  Capt.  Potter  commanded  a  company  of 
thirty  men  from  Beaufort :  fifteen  of  these  were  killed  or  woun- 
ded in  the  action."  If  the  hulfoi  one  small  company  was  killed 
or  wounded,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  he  must  have  lost  more 
tlian  nine  in  all;  but  this  is  a  matter  which  cannot  be  determined, 
with  precision,  nor  is  it  of  nmch  importance. 

Those  who  fled  were  pursued;  and  fifteen  or  sixteen  of  them 
were  made  prisoners.  Rednap  Howel,  Harmon  Husband,  Jas. 
Hunter,  and  'Wilham  Butler,  were  outlawed  ;  and  a  reward  of 
^100,  and' 1000  acres  of  land  was  promised  to  any  person  who 
would  bring  in  either  of  them,  dead  or  alive  ;t  but  neither  of 
them  was  ever  taken.  The  governor  issued  a  proclamation  the 
next  day  in  which  he  offered  pardon  to  all  persons  who  had  risen 
against  the  government,  if  they  would  come  into  his  camp  with- 
in five  days,  lay  down  their  arms,  take  the  oath  of  allegiance, 

replied  in  the  same  spirit,  that  he  would  certainly  phoot  them  every  one  it 
there  should  be  occasion  tor  it.  He  afterwards  told  my  informant  that  he  had 
sliot  Ihr-m  everyone;  and  he  believed  that  he  had  done  execution  every  time 
except  once  when  his  gun  choked  in  loading-. 

=^-Vol.  2,  p.  27.C.  tWilliamson,  vol.  2,  p.  150. 


loS  I-IFi:  OF  DAVIU  CALa)W£i.L.p.D 

promise  to  pay  their  taxes,  and  submit  to  the  laws  of  the  country. 
According  to  MacPh.erson,  the  oath  was  very  severe,  bindmg 
them  "never  to  bear  arms  against  the  king,  but  to  take  up  arms 
for  iiini  if  called  upon  ;  to  pay  9.II  taxes,  those  that  were  due  as 
well  as  those  that  should  become  due>;  and  to  obey  all  laws  that 
had  been  enacted  or  that  should  be  hereafter  enacted."  By 
Subsequent  proclamations,  the  proviso  was  extended  to  the  10th 
of  July  ;  but  outlaws,  prisoners,  and  those  who  blew  up  Gen. 
Wad^^lell's  ammunition  were  excluded  from  the  benefit  of  the 
proclamation  : .  So  were  tlie  following  persons  who  were  men- 
tioned'by  name,  viz :.  Samuel- Jones,  Joshua  Teague,  Samuel 
Waggoner,  Simon  i)unn,jr.,  Abraham  Creson,  Benjamin  Mer- 
rill, James  Vv'ilkinspn,  seii.,  Edward  Smith,  John  Bumpass,  Jo- 
^;eph  Boring,  William  Rankin,  William  Robeson,  John  Winkler, 
John  Wilcox,  Jacob  Telfair,  and  Thotoas  Person. 

Among  the  prisoners  taken  immediately  after  the  battle  was 
oi]e  by  the  name  of  James  Few,  who  was  liung  on  the  spot,  as 
Martin  says,  without  a  trial,  or,  according  to- Williamson,  by 
sentence  of  a  court  martial.  This  was' an  act  of  cold  blooded 
cruelty  andfllmost  of  fiendish  malice  which  admitted  of  no  apol- 
ogy ;  for  he  was  in  a  state  of  insanity  ;  and  was  therefore  not  a 
fit  subject  of  punishment.  Wiley  Jones,  who  was  sent  by  Try- 
on  after  the  battle,  to  seize  the  papers  pf  Harmon  J-Iusband, 
found  among  them  a  letter  .from  Few  in  which  he  alleged  that 
he  luas  sent  by  heaven  to  relieve  the  world  from  oppression  ; 
and  that  he  was  to  bes^in  in  North  Carolina.  MacPherson  says 
he  was  "a  young  man,  a  carpenter,  by  trade,  and  .owned  the 
little  spot  of  ground,  jiist  out  of  Hillsborough,  where  Mr.  Kirk- 
land's  house  now  stands.  -  He  was  engaged  to  be  married  to'  a 
young  lady,  whon)  Fanning  seduced.-  He  then  joined  the  Re- 
gulators ;  was  taken  on  the  field  of  battle ;  and,  at  the  i?istiga- 
tion  of  Fanning,  was  executed  oil  the  spot."  The  effect  upon 
the  susceptible  and  perhaps  somewhat  visionary  mind  of  a  young 
man,  in  such  circumstances,  of  having  his  prospi3cts  of  domestic 
happiness  blighted  by  such  a  base  villain  as  Fanning,  who  Was 
trampling  on,  every  body,  and  especially  on-  the  p9or  around 
him,  because  'as  he  was  protected  by  the  governor  and  by  the 
.suptrior  court,  he   v,'-as  above  the  reach  of  law,  probably  pro- 


LIKE  OK  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D.  1   )f> 

diiccd  in  Few  a  degree  of  monomania,  and  he  began  to  tiiink 
that  he  \yas  commissioned  from  heaven  to  rid  the  world  of  sncii 
heartless  oppressors ;  and  as  the  regulators  weye  then  engaged 
in  a  conflict  with  the  government,  in  the  issue  of  which  Fanning 
and  others  of  his  class  were  so  deeply  concerned,  it  afforded  a 
good  opportunity  for  him  to  begin  the  Avork.  The  sacrifice  of 
Few  however,  uncalled  for  and  inhuman  as  it  was,  could  not 
abate  the  rage  of  Tryon,  or  quiet  the  guilty  mind  of  Fanning, 
under  Avhose  influence  he  appears  to  have  acted  in  this  matter. 
Tliough  petitioned  by  the  citizens  of  Hillsborough  to  spare  the 
family,  he  extended  his  vengeance  to  the  unoffending  parents, 
brothers,  and  sisters  by  the  destruction  of  their  property ;  and 
thus  shewed  that  he  was  as  destitute  of  humanity  as  he  was  re- 
gardless of  justice.  ' 

After  burying  the  dead  and  making  provisions  for  tlie  sick 
and  wounded,  Trypn  marched  with  his -army,  on  the  21st,  to 
Sandy  Creek,  Husband's  neighborhood,  where  they  encamped 
and  halted  for  a  week.  Detachments  were  sent  aut  to  assist  in 
collecting  the  taxes,  and  to  disperse  the  Regulators  who  were 
still  lurking  about  in  small  parties,  probably  from  mere  feelings 
of  mutual  sympathy  and  not  with  any  purpose  of  making  fur- 
ther resistance.  .The  treatnient  of  the  Regulators  was  certainly 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  things  that  has  occurred  in  an 
enlightened  and  christian  country.  Their  worst  acts  could  by 
no  fair  construction  of  law  be  made  ajiy  tl,wng  more  than  riols. 
It  does  not  appear  that  one  of  them  ever  entertai^ned  a  thought, 
much  less  a  settled  purpose  of  overturning  the  government;  but  by 
a  temporary  act  of  assembly,  of  twelvfe  mon'ths''duration,  parsed 
for  the  purpose,  and  therefore-,  in  the  spirit,  if  not  in  the  letter, 
an  exjwst  facto  law,  their  conduct  was  construed  into  premedi- 
tated rebellion;  and  the  leaders  were  tried,  condemned  and  ex- 
ecuted as  if  they  had  been  the  worst  of  traitors.  As  their  riots, 
if  such  they  must  be  called,  were  the  result  of  acknowledged 
and  flagmnt  abuses  on  the  part  of  the  government  officers,  and 
as  all  they  ever  asked  was  a  correction  CK^Uhese  abuses,  they 
might  have  been,-  at  any  time,  either  before  or  after  the  battle, 
converted  into  as  peaceable  and  orderly  subjects  as  any  in  the 
province,  by  simply  redressing  their  grievances,  and  treating 


inO  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

them  with  that  moderation  and  kindness  to  which  they,  in  com- 
mon with  all  others,  were  entitled. 

From  Sandy  Creek  he  marched  through  the  country  adminis- 
tering his  new  coined  oaths  of  allegiance  ;  disarming  the  inhab- 
itants ;  "  levying  contributions  of  beef  and  flour  ;*  burning 
houses,  treadmg  down  corn,  and  insulting  the  suspected  ;  hold- 
mg  courts  martial,  which  took  cognizance  of  civil  as  well  as  mi- 
litary offences;  extending  their  jurisdiction  even  to  ill-breeding 
and  want  of  good  manners  ;"t  and  exhibiting  his  prisoners  in 
chainsjj  as  scarecrows  to  others.  He  went  as  far  west,  accor- 
ding to  Martin,  as  the  Jersey  Settlement,  or,  as  others  say,  to 
Salisbury  ;  and  being  joined,  somewhere  in  that  region,  by  Gen. 
Waddel  with  a  large  body  of  men,  he  commenced  his  return  on 
the  9th  of  June.  ;  After  a  circuitous  route  through  the  Moravi- 
an settlement  in  Stokes,  Big  Troublesome  in  Rockingham,  &c., 
he  came  to  Guilford  courthouse,  seven  or  eigjit  miles  north  east 
from  the  present  site  of  Greensborough,  on  the  High  Rock  road; 
and  after  remaining  there  for  a  day  or  two  on  the  important  bu- 
siness of  his  military  expedition,  he  contimied  his  march  to  Hills- 
borough, where  a  special  court  of  oyer  and  terminer  was  held 
for  the  triaf  of  the  prisoners  :  twelve  of  them  were  indicted  for 
high  treason,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  death.  On  six.  of 
them,  the  sentence  was  executed  almost  immediately,  June 
19th';  .t)ut  the  execution  of  the  other  six  was  respited  until  the 
king's  pleasure  should  be  known.  The  execution  of  these  men 
v/as  considered  as  unjust,  or  impolitic  and  cruel  in  every  sense. 

'•*After  his  return  from  this  western  toijr,  sixty  he:id  of  cattle,  as  I  liave  been 
informed,  were  collected  on  the  plantation  on  which  Co|.  McConnell  now 
live^;,  four  miles  south-east  troiu  Greensboro ';  and  were  driven  from  that  place 
under  the  charge  of  John  Gilchrist,  to  Tryon's  camp  near  Hill^boro'.  These 
were  clvefly  collected  from  Guilford  county;  and  jt  is.  probable  that  similar 
c(intributians  vveredetriandcd  and  made  in  some  other  counties  for  the  support 
of  tiie,  army  while  iiis  excellency  was  employed  in  the  important  work  of 
haneing  the  traitors. 

f'.'One  Johiisoo  who  was  a  reputed  Reoiilator,  but  whnse  greatest  crime 
was  writing  an  impudent  letter  to  lady  Tryou,  was  sentenced,  in  one  of  these 
military  cur'ts,  to  receive  five  hundred  lashes,  and  received- two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them  acqordingry."— See  iVlaurice  Moore's  letter,  Martin,  2nd  vol.— Ap- 
pendix. •  •' 

JOne  of  the  present  Editors  of  the  Greensborough  Patriot,  Lyndon  Swaim, 
has  informed  nje  that  an  ancestor  of  his,  Marmaduke  Vickory,  was  one  of 
tiie  men  who  were  thus  exhibited  in  chains  throui>h  the  streets  of  Saleno,  sev- 
eral of  them  bcin'j:  chaiHcd  toirether. 


LIFE  OF  DAVIP  CALDWELL,  D.U.  I  0  I 

They  had  been  ahiiost  driven,  by  both  public  and  private  imj)0- 
sitions,  to  act  the  part  which  they  did ;  as  the  law  by  which 
they  were  condemned  was  to  expire  by  limitation  within  a  few 
months,  their  death  could  not  operate  as  a  warning  to  others 
any  longer  than  the  law  was  in  force ;  they  had  acted  only  a 
subordinate  part,  for  the  leaders  had  all  made  their  escape  ;  and 
"  the  rebellion,"  as  Tryon  wished  to  have  it  considered,  was 
now  completely  subdued  ;  but  he  shewed  on  this  occasion  that 
he  had  neither  the  generosity  of  a  soldier,  the  dignity  of  a  gen- 
tleman, nor  the  liberal  views  and  humane  feelings  of  a  patriot. 
His  anxiety  to  have  the  men  condemned,  and  the  useless  display 
which  he  made  at  the  execution,  betrayed  as  much  vanity  and 
weakness  as  disregard  to  justice  and  the  claims  of  humanity. — 
He  appears  to  have  "  exerted  the  whole  influence  of  his  char- 
acter against  the  lives  of  these  people  ;  for  as  soon  as  he  was 
told  that  an  indulgence  of  one  day  had  been  granted  by  the 
court  to  two  of  them  to  send  for  witnesses,  who  actually  estab- 
hshed  their  innocence  and  saved  their  lives,  he^sent  an  aid-de- 
camp to  the  judges  and  attorney  general  to  acquaint  them  that 
he  was  dissatisfied  with  their  inactivity,  and  threatened  to  re- 
present them  unfavorably  in  England,  if  they  did  not  proceed' 
with  more  spirit  and  dispatch." 

On  the  day  of  execution,  the  whole  army  was  drawn  out  un- 
der arms,  except  the  quarter  guard  and  sentinels.  They  formed 
and  marched  in  a  hollow,  oblong  square  ;  the  artillery  forming 
the  front  and  rear  faces ;  the  first  line,  the  riglit,  o,nd  the  second, 
the  left  face  ;  the  main  guard  marchmg  in  the  centre,  with  the 
sheriff  and  prisoners  ;  and  the  light  horse  covering  the  out  side  of 
the  flanks  to  keep  off  the  crowd.  This  order  of  march  had  been 
sketched  out,  and  given  in  general  orders  by  the  governor  him- 
self, who  stooped  in  this  manner  to  point  out  the  spot  for  the 
gallows,  and  to  give  orders  for  clearing  the  field  around,  to  make 
room  for  the  army."  As" Maurice  Mpore  observed  in  his  letter, 
"  the  governor's  minute  and  personal  attention  to  these  particu- 
lars, left  a  ridiculous  idea  of  his  character  behind,  bearing  a 
strong  resemblance  to  that  of  a,n  undertaker  at  a  funeral."— 
Some  of  them  were  as  brave  as  they  were  loyal ;  and  having 
warred  only  against  corruption  and  oppression,  deserved  a  very 
21 


1(3-2  LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

diilereiit  flite  ;  bat  Tryon  was  not  like  "  Fingal,  who  never  in- 
jured the  brave  though  his  arm  was  strong :"  others  of  them 
liad  not  warred  in  any  way,  nor  had  they  done  any  thing  "  wor- 
thy oideatli,"  or  even  "  of  stripes  ;"  and  none  of  them  deserved 
the  condemnation  whicii  they  received,  if  they  deserved  any  at 
all ;  but  tiiey  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  one  who  neither  ac- 
knowledged the  claims  of  justice  nor  was  capable  of  appreciating 
merit,  especially  in  those  who,  like  Job,  "knew  not  to  give  flat- 
tering titles,"  or  who  could  not  bow  to  his  haughty  mandate. — 
Dr.  Caldwell  attended  the  trial  of  the  prisoners;  and  was  pre- 
sent at  the  execution.  None  of  them  belonged  to  his  congrega- 
tions ;  but  with  some  of  them  he  was  personally  acquainted  ;  and 
for  the  welfare  of  all  he  felt,  as  a  man  and  a  christian,  a  deep 
concern.  He  went  therefore  to  Hillsborough,  a  distance  of  4G 
miles,  for  the  purpose  of  using  what  influence  he  could  to  pro- 
cure their  acquittal  or  their  pardon,  by  testifying  to  the  charac- 
ter of  such  of  them  as  he  knew,  and  by  appearing  there  as  a 
minister  of  mercy  to  intercede  on  their  behalf;  isnd  if  he  should 
fail  in  that,  to  aid  them  by  his  counsels  and  his  prayers  in  pre- 
jiaring  for  the  solemn  change  which  awaited  them.  As  to  the 
fprmer,  his  efforts  were  unavailing  ;  but  as  to  the  latter,  his  labor 
was  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord,  and  he  probably  felt  rewarded  for 
his  trouble. 

When  this  bloody  tragedy  was  over,  the  army  left  Hillsboro' 
on  the  following  day,  and  encamped  at  Stony  Creek.  Next 
morning  the  governor  took  leave  of  them,  and  proceeded  to 
Newbern.  The  troops  were  conducted  by  slow  marches  to  Col. 
Bryan's  in  Johnston  county,  near  the  spot  on  which  the  town  of 
Smithfleld  now  stands,  where  the  diflerent  detachments  separat- 
ed, and  returned,  each  one  by  the  nearest  route,  to  their  respec- 
tive counties.  The  inhabitants  of  Duplin  having  acted  in  such 
,a  way  as  to  bring  their  loyalty  into  question,  Col.  Ashe  was  di- 
rected to  stop  there  and  get  them  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  ; 
but  they  were  as  obstinate  about  taking  the  oath  as  they  had 
been  about  marching  against  the  Regulators ;  and  after  waiting 
two  or  three  days  in  vain  the  Colonel  left  them  to  enjoy  their 
independence  and  returned  to  his  home.  Thus  ended  an  expe- 
dition M-liich  was,  in  fact,  little  more  than  a  crusade  against  jus- 


LIPK  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  1()^ 

tice,  lieedom,  and  humanity,  in  which  his  excellency  eil'ectcd 
nothing  for  the  permanent  tranquility  and  peace  of  the  country  ; 
and  while  he  subjected  himself  to  the  keenest  shafts  of  ridicule, 
he  gathered  no  laurels  but  such  as  were  stained  with  the  blood 
of  his  wronged  and  injured  subjects,  or  blighted  by  tlie  tt:ars  of 
the  widow  and  the  orphan. 

It  is  matter  of  some  regret  that  we  are  not  better  acquainted 
with  the  character  of  all  those  who  were  either  outlawed,  or 
tried  and  condemned ;  for  the  justice  of  a  cause,  or  the  propriety 
of  a  given  course  of  conduct,  may  often  be  estimated  in  a  good 
degree  by  the  character  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  it ; 
but  even  the  names  of  many  of  these  are  forgotten.  Rednap 
Howel,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  bard  of  the  day,  the  "poet 
laureate"  of  his  party ;  and  while  he  amused  himself  by  making 
their  oppressors  the  subjects  of  ridicule,  he  was  contented  with 
exciting  others  to  deeds  of  heroism  in  the  cause  of  freedom. — 
He  appears  to  have  been  a  pretty  good  English  scholar,  and  a 
man  of  general  information,  very  shrewd  and  full  of  humor  ; 
but  he  took  no  active  part  in  the  battle,  and  was  outlawed,  not 
for  his  fighting,  but  for  his  songs.  He  was  not  like  the  warrior 
bard  who  "  sung  the  battles  of  his  own  spear  ;"  for  he  prefer- 
red the  society  of  the  Muses  to  that  of  Mars ;  and  although 
'•  his  soul  was  fire,  few  were  the  marks  of  his  sword  in  battle." 
James  Hunter  was  a  man  of  some  property  and  influence.  He 
had  belonged  to  one  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  congregations,  though  it 
is  not  recollected  whether  he  was  in  communion  witl,i  the  church 
or  only  a  stated  hearer ;  but  he  withdrew  because  he  thought 
the  Dr.  was  not  sufficiently  zealous  in  the  cause.  He  was  the 
only  one  however  who  did  so  :  the  rest  all  thought  his  course 
very  judicious;  but  one  little  fact  may  be  mentioned  here  as 
throwing  some  light  on  the  character  of  Hunter.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  battle  the  Regulators  requested  him  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  the  whole  ;  but  he  refused,  saying,  "'we  are  all  freemen; 
and  every  one  must  command  himself."  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  man  of  good  mind  naturally,  and  moral  in  his  deport- 
ment, if  he  was  not  a  christian ",  but  was  very  ardent,  and  prone 
to  be  enthusiastic  in  whatever  he  undertook.  "  Samuel  Divin- 
nv  was  ;i  bold  man.  who  could  fight,  but  not  contrive."     Rob- 


1G4  UFE    OF  DAVID  GAldVVELL,  D.D. 

ert  Matcer,  one  of  those  who  were  executed,  was  a  quiet,  ami- 
able and  upright  man.  No  man  in  the  neighborhood  was  more 
esteemed  while  living,  or  more  lamented  when  dead;  and  he 
had  from  first  to  last  taken  no  part  in  any  of  the  riots,  or  in  the 
resistance  wiiich  was  made  to  government.  There  seemed  to 
be  a  peculiar  hardship  in  his  case ;  for  he  never  had  openly- 
joined  the  Regulators,  or  committed  any  overt  act  wliich  he 
supposed  could  make  him  liable  to  punishment.  He  had  been 
for  some  time  in  a  very  anxious  state  of  mind  to  know  whether 
the  Regulators  were  right,  or  what  was  his  duty  in  the  case  ; 
and  had  become  pretty  well  satisfied  in  his  own  mind  that  the 
cause  in  which  the  Regulators  were  engaged  was  a  good  one,  or 
at  least  that  they  had  justice  on  their  side;  but  it  was  still  a 
question  with  him  whether,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances, 
they  ought  to  make  an  open  resistance,  though  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives,  or  wait  for  a  more  favorable  opportunity.  In  this 
state  of  suspense  he  went  to  Newbern  with  a  wagon  load  of 
produce ;  and  Tryon  having  learned  where  he  lived,  as  there 
was  then  no  mail  carried  in  this  direction,  made  him  the  bearer 
of  a  letter  to  Alexander  Martin.  To  get  relief  from  his  pain- 
ful anxiety,  which  was  of  course  increased  by  the  iact  that  he 
was  carrying  a  letter  fron^i  the  governor,  and  not  knowing  or 
thinking  of  the  consequence,  he  opened  the  letter  on  the  road 
and  read  it :  but  was  so  disgusted  with  the  haughtiness  and  ty- 
ranny which  it  manifested,  that  he  handed  it  over  to  some  of  his 
friends  who  >  were  Regulators.  Through  their  carelessness  or 
intemperate  zeal,  it  became  known  and  was  the  sole  cause  of 
his  death.  On  the  day  of  the  battle  it  seems  that  in  the  simpli- 
city of  his  nature  and  with  the  best  intentions,  he  went,  in  com- 
pany with  Robert  Thompson,  and  perhaps  with  Dr.  Caldwell, 
to  confer  with  the  governor  on  the  subject  of  their  difllculties; 
but  was  detained  as  a  prisoner,  and  executed  at  Hillsborough. 
This  account,  though  not  a  matter  of  history,  is  believed  to  be 
substantially  correct ;  and  wjiether  he  deserved  to  die,  the  rea- 
der must  judge.  Nor  will  the  fate  of  Captain  Merrill  excite 
much  less  regret.  He  was  from  the  Jersey  Settlement,  accordr 
ing  to  MacPherson ;  or,  as  others  say,  from  Mecklenburg  coun- 
ly.     He  was  regarded  as  a  pious  man  ;  and  was  much  esteem- 


tIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  165 

c(l  wherever  he  was  known.  He  was  within  an  easy  day's 
march  of  the  place  of  meeting,  with  three  hmidred  men  under 
his  command,  when  he  heard  of  the  defeat ;  and  if  he  had  go^,; 
there  in  time  theresult  would  have  been  very  different.  H^^ 
men  immediately  dispersed ;  but  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
his  hfe  was  the  forfeit.  In  this  trying  situation  he  gave  his 
friends  satisfactory  evidence  that  he  was  prepared  to  die  ;  for 
he  not  only  professed  his  faith  in  Christ,  his  hope  of  heaven,  and 
his  willingness  to  go,  but  sung  a  Psalm  very  devoutly  just  before 
he  swung  off,  and  died  with  the  resignation  and  composure  of  a 
christian. 

The  author  of  the  communication  in  the  Weekly  Times  says, 
that  James  Pugh  was  an  ingenious  gun  smith,  and  had  mended 
many  of  the  Regulators'  guns ;  and  the  sentiments  and  conduct 
which  he  ascribes  to  him,  when  taken  prisoner,  after  having, 
with  his  own  hand  shot  fifteen  or  sixteen  of  the  men  who  man- 
aged the  artillery,  and  when  placed  under  the  gallows,  are  those 
of  a  hero  and  a  patriot ;  and  are  worthy  of  any  age  or  any 
country.  While  that  writer  is  probably  mistaken  in  some  things, 
as  to  time  and  place,  though  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining 
with  entire  certainty,  he  has  been  sustained  by  the  concurrent 
testimony  of  Regulators,  and  of  their  cotemporaries  in  this  region, 
as  to  the  main  facts.  When  placed  under  the  gallows,  he  ap- 
peared perfectly  calm  and  composed;  told  them  that  he  had 
long  been  prepared  to  meet  his  God  in  another  world;  refused 
to  make  any  acknowledgements  for  what  he  had  done ;  and  re- 
quested of  the  governor  permission  to  address  the  people  for  one 
half  hour  in  his  own  defence.  Having  obtained  this  permission, 
he  told  them  that  his  blood  would  be  as  good  seed  sown  on  good 
ground,  which  would  soon  produce  a  hundred  fold ;  recapitula- 
ted the  causes  of  the  late  conflict ;  asserted  that  the  Regulators 
had  taken  the  life  of  no  man  previous  to  the  battle,  nor  had  they 
aimed  at  any  thing  more  than  a  redress  of  their  grievances ; 
charged  the  governor  with  having  brought  an  army  there  to 
murder  the  people  instead  of  taking  sides  with  them  against  a 
set  of  dishonest  officers  ;  advised  him  to  put  away  his  corrupt 
clerks  and  tax  gatherers,  and  be  a  friend  to  the  people  whom  he 
was  appointed  to  govern ;  but  when  he  told  him  that  his  friend 


166  LIFJE  UK  UAVll)  CAI^DW£LL.  P.D 

Col.  Fanning  was  not  lit  for  the  office  which  lie  held,  he  was 
suddenly  interrupted;  the  barrel  was  turned  over,  at  the  insti- 
ation  of  Planning;  and  he  was  launched  into  eternity  before  he 

d  finished  his  speech,  and  before  thehalf  hour  which  had  been 
promised  him  was  expired. 

According  to  the,  same  writer  the  death  of  Capt.  Messer,  though 
less  heroic,  was  no  less  melancholy.  Being  an  inliuentiai  man 
in  his  neighborhood,  and  having  taken  a  very  active  part,  he  was 
to  have  been  hung  the  next  day  after  the  battle  ;  but  owing  to 
a  very  affecting  incident  which  occured,  he  was  reserved  for  the 
grandye/e  at  Hillsborough.  His  wife  having  heard,  in  tlie  course 
of  the  night,  of  what  was  to  take  place,  went  in  the  morning  to 
see  the  last  of  her  husband,  taking  along  with  her  their  oldest 
son,  an  uncornmonly  smart  and  pretty  child,  about  ten  years  old. 
She  was  lying  on  the  ground,  her  face  covered  with  her  hands, 
and  her  boy  weeping  over  her,  while  the  preparation  was  ma- 
king for  his  execution,  but  when  the  fatal  moment  had  arrived, 
as  he  thought,  the  child  stepped  up  to  Tryon,  and  asked  him  to 
hung  him  and  let  hh  father  live.  Tryon  wished  to  know  who 
had  instructed  him  to  do  so.  "No  body,"  was  the  reply.  "What 
is  yoin-  reason  for  making  this  offer?"  "Because  if  you  hang  my 
father,niy  mother  will  die,  and  the  children  will  perish,"  said  the 
boy.  This  request  was  made  with  such  simplicity  and  earn- 
estness, that  it  touched  the  governor's  feelings ;  and  he  told  him 
that  his  father  should  not  die  that  day.  At  Fanning's  suggestion 
a  pardon  was  offered  hmi,  on  condition  that  he  would  bring  in 
Harmon  Husband ;  and  lie  was  permitted  to  go  in  pursuit  of 
him,  while  his  wife  and  son  were  retained  as  hostages.  On  his 
return  he  reported  that  he  was  unable  to  bring  him,  for  the  want 
of  more  force,  though  he  had  overtaken  him  in  Virginia  ;  and 
while  his  wife  was  sent  home,  he  was  put  in  chains  until  the 
time  of  execution,  and  his  son  was  retained  as  a  foot  page  to  the 
governor.  Tliis  account  of  JVIesser  was  new  to  me,  when  it  first 
appeared  in  the  newspapers;  but  the  main  facts  respecting  Capt. 
Pugh,  had  been  frequently  related  to  me  by  surviving  I^egiila- 
tors  and  their  co-evals. 

On  the  character  of  Harmon  Husband,  perhaps  enough  lias 
bt'cii  said  ;  but  the  reader  niny  wish  to  know  something  of  his 


LIKE  OF  DAVID  CALDWKM.,  D.D.  ItiT 

subsequent  histon^  After  leaving  North  Carol  inn,  which  he 
did  with  all  expedition  after  the  battle  on  the  Alamance,  he  set- 
tled in  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  not  far  from  fort  Pitt, 
now  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  and  remained  there  until  he  was  taken 
away  shortly  before  his  death.  He  came  back  to  this  country, 
after  the  Revolutionary  war,  on  business ;  but  did  not  remain 
long.  Two  of  his  sons  settled  on  a  large  tract  of  land  which  he 
had  on  Deep  River,  near  the  Buffalo  ford;  and  lived  there  for 
a  number  of  years  after  the  war.  His  daughter  also  married  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Wright,  and  lived  in  that  county  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  after  the  Revolution.  When  laboring  under  a 
chronic  disease,  she  applied  to  Dr.  Caldwell  as  a  physician,  and 
remained  several  days  in  his  house.  His  family  speak  of  her  in 
very  high  terms,  not  only  as  a  woman  of  superior  mind,  and  a- 
greeable  manners,  but  as  uncommonly  intelligent  and  interesting  ^ 
for  the  age  and  country  in  which  she  lived.  In  1794,  Husband 
was  concerned  in  the  whiskey  insurrection  which  took  place  in 
the  region  of  country  where  he  lived  ;  but  of  the  part  he  took, 
and  of  the  motives  by  which  he  was  influenced,  we  have  no  in- 
formation. The  people  all  over  the  union  having  recently  suf- 
fered so  much  from  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment, and  having  made  such  sacrifices  to  obtain  their  inde- 
pendence, were  extremely  jealous  of  tlie  legislative  power  ;  but 
in  Pennsylvania  excise  laws  were  particularly  odious,  because 
a  large  proportion  of  the  population  were  "  emigrants  from  Ire- 
land, who  brought  with  them  strong  prejudices  against  such 
laws,  and  because  the  first  attempt  at  direct  taxation  by  the 
British  Parliament  over  the  American  colonies,  was  an  excise 
law."  Besides  it  was  viewed  as  partial  and  peculiarly  oppres- 
sive in  the  western  part  of  the  State  ;  for  whiskey  was  almost 
the  only  article  which  tlicy  could  take  to  market ;  but  they  could 
not  descend  the  Ohio ;  it  was  near  400  miles  to  Philadelphia ; 
and  they  had  nothing  but  a  packhorse  path  across  the  moun- 
tains. When  the  State  tlierefore  laid  a  tax  on  distilled  spirits, 
the  people  not  distinguishing  between  a  law  of  their  own  legis- 
lature, and  one  made  by  a  foreign  power  to  tax  them  in  all  ca- 
ses without  their  consent^  manifested  their  opposition  to  it  in  the 
same  way  as  thf^y  had  done  to  the  stamp  act;  and  the  law  was 


IGS  LIt;E  OK  DAVIU  CALUWEJLL,  D.D. 

obliged  to  be  repealed.  This  was  the  object  at  which  they  aim- 
ed, and  not  a  subversion  of  the  government ;  and  when  con- 
gress passed  a  similar  law  a  few  years  after,  the  people  attempt- 
ed to  force  a  repeal  of  it  in  the  same  way.  A  law  of  the  gene- 
ral government  which  appeared  so  partial  and  oppressive  m  its 
operation  was  j  nst  calculated  to  rouse  a  man  of  Husband's  tem- 
perament ;  but  the  only  notice  of  him  in  relation  to  that  matter, 
which  has  fallen  under  the  eye  of  the  writer  is  in  the  number  of 
the  Southern  Literary  Messenger  for  January  lS42,from  which 
it  appears  that  he  was  appointed  on  the  committee  of  safety  with 
Brackenridge,  Bradford,  and  Gallatin.  From  his  being  associa- 
ted with  such  men  it  would  seem  that  his  influence  in  the  coun- 
try must  have  been  considerable  ;*  but  his  Quaker  plainness  with 
his  frank  and  unyielding  straightforwardness  prevented  him  from 
making  any  shifts  to  keep  out  of  difficulty.  Brackenridge  with 
all  his  talents,  ingenuity,  and  legal  knowledge  found  it  difficult 
to  escape,  though  his  motives  were  probably  good  ;  but  Hus- 
band, whose  motives  may  have  been  equally  as  good,  was  taken 
and  condemned.  He  immediately  wrote  to  some  of  his  friends 
in  this  country,  for  a  certificate  of  his  character  while  he  Uved 
here  ;  and  this  was  not  only  granted,  but  a  petition  was  drawn 
up  for  his  pardon,  which  had  attached  to  it  a  pretty  long  list  of 
respectable  names.  As  Dr.  Caldwell  was,  about  this  time,  the 
spring  of  1795,  going  on  to  Philadelphia  with  an  afflicted  mem- 
ber of  his  family,  the  petition  was  sent  by  him;  and  he  happened 
to  enter  the  eity  on  the  same  day,  and  about  the  same  time  with 
the  prisoners.  The  Doctor,  as  his  family  have  informed  me,  al- 
Avays  thought  Husband  a  little  headstrong  and  impetuous,  but 
believed  him  to  be  honest  in  his  intentions.  He  therefore  wish- 
ed to  have  him  pardoned ;  and  got  his  old  friend  Doct.  Rush  to 
unite  with  him  in  tlie  petition.  The  two  senators  from  this  State, 
Martin  and  Blood  worth,  both  of  whom  probably  knew  him  when 
he  lived  here,  also  united  in  it ;  and  he  was  pardoned :  so  were 
the  other  prisoners ;  but  Husband  died  at  a  tavern  on  his  way 
liome  ;  and  his  wife,  who  had  set  out  for  Philadelphia,  met  with 
him  there,  and  was  with  him  in  liis  last  hours. 

"Since  the  above  wns  in  type  the  writer  has-been  informed  that. lie  had  been 
for  several  years  ;i  member  of  the  PciinFylviuna  legislature. 


LIFE  OF  l)AVn>    CALUAVELL,  p.I).  f* 'l^ 

The  issue  of  the  battle  on  the  Alamance,  has  always  been,  re- 
garded as  inifortunate  ;■' and  in  some -fespects  it  was  exceedingly 
so  :  but  on  the  whole  it  was  perhapk  Kest  for  the  present  peace 
of  the  country,  and  ultimately  Tor  the  cause  of' liberty.  If  the 
Regulators  bad  been  victorious  it  would  have  brought  on  the 
province  the  whole  power  of  the  Britisii  government,  before  the 
other  provinces  were  prepared  to  make  a  common  cause  with 
it ;  and  m  that  case^  tlfe  consequence^  must  have  been  still  more 
unhappy.  It  enabled-  the  governoi',  naturally  imperious,  and 
now  elated  with  success,  to  traverse  the' region  of.the  disaffected, 
with  fire  and  sword.;  the  country,  was  ra\'a:ged,  and  a  large  a- 
mount  of  property  destroyed  or  carried  away  as  plunder;  the 
inhabitants  were  (disarmed  and  insulted ;  and  the  province  was 
saddled  with  a  debt  of  sixty  thousand  pounds ;  but  the  country 
was  not  depopulated,  for  all  that  had  been  killed  were  hardly 
missed;  the  people  were  not  subdued;  and  while  their  losses 
could  soon  be  repaired  by  industry  and  economy,  they  had 
learned  by  experience  an  important  lesson.  There  is  hardly  any 
thilig  for  which  people  can  be  well  prepared  without  some  ex- 
perience ;  and  this  was  tlieir  initiation  into  that  kind  of  knowl- 
edge. They  learned  the  necessity  of  making"  adequate  prepara- 
tion, and  of  having,  som^  military  discipline  ;  for  although  all 
were  freemen,  it  appeared  that  if  every  one  was  left  to  '^com- 
mand himself,"  he  would  soon  have  to  run  away,  or,  coyldaiot 
live  to  fight  another  day.  From  the  execution  v/hich  was  done 
by  the  bravery  of  a  few,  they  also  learned  their  own  strength, 
or  saw  what  might  be  done  by  union  and'proper  discipline ;  nor 
would  they  have  been  defeated  again  by  tlie  same  troops  and 
on  the  same  ground,  notwithstanding  the  artillery.  It  is  true 
that  the  battle  of  the  Alamance  made  many  torics,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  whom  were  as  conscientious  and  good  men  as  any  in 
the  country ;  and  some  of  theto  were  me.n  of  property  and  in- 
fluence in  "their  respective  neighborhoods.  Being  honest  men,, 
and  having  escaped  an  ignominious  death  by  taking  a  solemn 
oath  never  to  bear  arms  .agdinst  the  king,  but  to  fight  for  him; 
when  called  on,  they  never  could  bear,  the  idea  of  violating  the 
obligation  which  h«d  been  thus  imposed  upon  them.  They  have 
therefore  lain  under  an  imputation  which  they  did  wot  deserve",. 


170  LIFE    OK  DAVID  CALliWELL,  D.D, 

for  they  were  consistently  conscientious,  through  aU  the  ciianges 
of  time  and  place,  until  tjaeir  death;  and  during  the  war  these 
were  generally  called  '^'goo'd  tories,"  because  they  never  burned 
liouses,  nor  committed  depredations  on  the  property  of  the  citi- 
i^ens.  The  influence  of  their  name  and  character,  however,  gave 
encouragement  to  a  larger  number  of  most  unprhicipled  and 
reckless  men,  who  could  do  a  great  deal  in  a  bad  cause,  but  little 
or  nothing  in  a  good  one.  These  were'cjitled  "bad  tories,"  be- 
cause, having  nothing  to  lose,  being  regardless  of  character,  and 
under  no  restraints  of  cohscience,-'they  paid  no  respect  to  age  or 
sex,  law  or  reason;' and  deserved,  as  they  have  received,  the 
execrations  of  posterity.  Some  of  these  had  probably  been  en- 
gaged in  the  Regulation  ;  but  the  greater  part  had  not ;  and  al- 
together, though  they  were  too  bad  to  die,  they  were  not  fit  to 
live  :  or  as  the  poet  has  .said,  they  were 

"a  race, 
Able  to  bring  the  gibbet  in  disgrace." 

]3ut  while  a  majority  of  the  Regulators  who  became  tories 
were  men  of  respectability  and  moral  worth,  and  while  a  majo- 
rity of  those  Who  actually  took  up  arms  against  the  government, 
perhaps  did  become  tories,  it  w£i.s  not  so  with  all ;  and  if  the 
battle  of  the  Alamance  made  many  fories,  it,  also  made  many 
staunch  whigs.  Although  a  large  proportion  of  the  men  in  Dr. 
Caldwell's  congregations  were  hot  oirly  Regulators,  but  took  an 
active  part  in  the  conflict;  yet  so  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able 
to  ascertain,  none  of  them  became  tories,  nor  is  it  known  that 
there  was  a  single  tory  belonging;  to  those  congregations  during 
the  war.-  The;  Gillespies,  the  G-ilmers,  the  Forbises,  the  Mont- 
gomeries,  and  many  others  were  men  whose  names  ought  notii0 
to  "  be  written  in  the  earth,"  or  excluded  from  the  enduring  re- 
cords of  time;  nor  will  they  be  forgotten  soon  ;  for  if  their  names 
v/ere';iever'to  appear  in  history  they  would  live  in  the  traditions 
of  the  country  for  generations  to  come  ;  yet  these  men  and  ma- 
ny others  who  might  be  named,  after  having  been  with  the  fore- 
most in  the  Regu'latLon  battle,  were  the  best  partizan  o/licers, 
and  thj  best  soldiers  that  the  cau.se  of  independence  had  in  this 
region,  if  not  in  the  State.  Daniel  Gillespie  was  a  member  of 
the  convention   which  adopfed  the  State  Constitution,  and  also 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  171 

ol'tliat  which  adopted  the  Federal  Constitution;  and  al'tcr wards 
represented  iiis  county  in  the  legislature,  and  was  appointed  to 
other  offices  of  imporfance  and  resppjaiibility.  He  was  a  Cap- 
tain during  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  very  skilful  and  enter- 
prizing  officer.  His  older  brother,  John  Gillespie,  was  a  Colo- 
nel during  the  war ;  nor  was  there  a  more  resolute  mau  in  North 
Carolina  or  any  wliere  else  to  be  found ;  and  if  ever  it  could  be 
said  with  truth  of  any  man,  it  could  be  said  with  truth  of  Colo- 
nel John  Gillespie,  that  "he  never  Icnew  fear."  Both  these 
brothers  were  in  the  battle  of  the  Alamance  ;  bdt  John  distin- 
guished himself  so  that  he  attracted  the.  notice  of  the  governor. 
He  was  about  the  last  man  to  leave  the  ground, — I  mean,  of 
those  who  were  under  arms, — and  he  would  have  been  taken 
on  the  spot,  probably,  like  Capt.  Pugh,  had  not  two  of  his  ac- 
quaintances who  had  no  share  in  the  engagement,  taken  him, 
one  by  each  arm,  and  led  hiiii.away.  Tryon,  having  learned 
his  name,  offered  a  reward  for  his  apprehension,  and  sent  two 
or  three  men  in'  pursuit  of  him,  who  'overtook  him  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  or  two  from  the  scene  of  action,  at  the  far  side 
of  a  rye  field  which  he  had  just  passed  ;  but  not  suspecting,  from 
his  dress  and  appearance,  t^iat  he  was  the  man  of  whom  they 
were  "in  pursuit,  they  asked  him  if  he  knew  one  John  Gillespie. 
With  perfect  composure,  he  replied  that  he  did",  very  well;  and 
that  they  could  prpbably  overtake  him,  if  they  would  pursue  on, 
as  he  had  seen  him  passing  the  rye  field  only  a  few  minutes  be- 
fore. With  that  they  put  spurs  to  their  horses,  and  went  off  at 
full  speed;  IMt  he  changed  his  course.and  hastened  home  ;  and 
then  taking  his  waggon  and  servant  boy  he  set  off  for  the  moun- 
tains. When  Tryon  came  into  the  neighborhood,  havmg  learn- 
ed where  he  had  gone,  he  sent  two  men  after  him  ;  and  compel- 
led one  of  Gillespie's  neighbors,  by  the  name  of  Reese  Porter, 
to  go  along  as  a  pilot.  They  overtook  him  in  a  place  called  the 
Hollows,  in  Surry  county  ;  and  knov/ing  their  business  as  soon 
as  they  came  in  sight,  his  servant  requested  him  to  make  his  es- 
cape and  let  him  take  care  of  the  horses  in  the  best  way  ho  could; 
but  he  said  that  he  never  had  run  from  man  and  he  should  not 
do  it  then.  Being  well  armed  with  a  rifle,  pistols  &c.,  he  let 
them  come  within  about  a  hundred  yards ;  and  told  them  not  to 


b.l^/^  LIFE  OV  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

advance  another  step,  or  he  would  kill  one  of  them  at  all  events. 
As  neither  of  them  felt  willing  to  die  just  then,  and  knowing  the 
determin6d  spn'it  of  the  man,  they  remained  there ;  and  after 
talking  for  some  time  at  that  distance,  they  left  him.  When  he 
learned  that  Tryon  had  laft  this  part  of  the  comitry  he  returned 
home;  and  when  Independence  was  declared  he  embarked  in 
the  caiise  with  irrepressible  ardor.  Several  of  his  neighbors  re- 
tired to  the  mountains  as  he  did  and  remained  there  until  they 
could  -return^  with  safety ;  but  never  surrendered  ;  and  never 
took  the  oath .  of  allegiance.  /Hiese  facts  the  writer  learned 
years  ago  from  Regulators  and  their  cotemporaries,  who  had, 
in  part  at  least,  personal  knowledge  of  what  they  related;  and 
he  feels  no  doubt  of  their  t)eing  substantially  correct. 

If  Tryon's  victory  on  the  Alamance  caused  ma'ny  serious 
and  respectable  men  to  become  tories,  it  was  only  because  they 
feared  God,  and  could  not  -bear  the  thought  of  committing  per- 
jury ;  for,  to  use  their  own  language,  "this  would  be  giving 
themselves  to  the  devil  at  once  ;"  but  they  had  no  more  real  at- 
tachment to  the  government  by  which  they  had  been  oppressed, 
nor  any  less  love  for  liberty,  than  belore  ;  and  were  led  wrong 
by  their- conscience  only  for  the  want  of  better  information.  In 
proof  of  this  the  following  fact  may  be  men^oned  here,  tnough 
it  properly  belongs  to  a  later  period.  When  the  crisis  of  Amer- 
ican freedom  arrived,  some  of  the  men  in  Dr*  Caldwell's'con- 
gregations  who,  although  they  had  taken  tlie  oath  of  allegiance, 
v/ere  with  the  friends  of  liberty,  in'  principle  and  feeling,  and 
wislied'to  share  v/ith  them  in  the  toils  and  dangea^as  well  as  the 
honors  of  the  contest;-  but  could  not  at  once  reconcile  such  g.  2 
course  with  their  conscience,  in  view  of  the  oath  which  they^ 
had  taken.  Under  these  circumstances  they  stated  their  difficul- 
ties to  the  Dr.;  and  soon  had  their  scruples  of  conscience  reniov-. 
ed.  He  shewed  them  that  the  oath  was  not  and  could  not  be 
binding ;  for  besides  the  fact  that  the  oath  was  in  a  measure 
forced,  having  been  taken  by  them  as  the  only  means  of  escap- 
ing the  gallows,  the  British  government  had  grossly  and  repeat- 
e.dly  violated  our  chartered  rights  since  the  Oath  was  taken ; 
and,  as  obligations  and  duties  in  such  cases  are  always  recipro- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  173 

the  oath  Avas  taken,  instead  of  protecting  us  in  the  enjoyment 
ol'  our  rights  as  Britit;h  subjects,  which  they  were  bound  to  do, 
had  so  notoriously  violated  their  engagements  and  had  declared 
their  purpose  to  persist  in  this  violation,  we  were,  of"  course,  re- 
leased from  our  obligation  to  obedience.  Moreover,  in  all  cases 
where  there  are  parties,  and  reciprocal  duties  to  be  performed, 
as  between  rulers  and  subjects,  when  one  party,  and  especially 
the  stronger  one,  fails,  it  becomes  impossible  for  the  other  to 
comply  ;  therefore  both  must  lose  the  advantage  which  they  ex- 
pected to  derive  from  the  connexion,  which  henceforth  ceases  ; 
but  the  blame,  if  there  be  any,  must  rest  on  the  party  which 
made  the  dissolution  necessary.  This  simple  course  of  reason- 
ing, expressed  in  his  peculiar  manner,  v/hich  was  that  of  asking 
questions,  and  allowing  them  to  suggest  the  answer  themselves, 
was  satisfactory  ;  and  they  shewed  no  more  hesitancy,  or  want 
of  zeal  in  the  cause.  For  this  the  tory  party  abused  him  and 
charged  him  with  having  acted  the  part  of  a  popish  priest  in  ab- 
solving men  from  their  oaths,  and  v/ith  having  used  sophistry  to 
quiet  their  consciences ;  but  he  claimed  no  right  or  power  of  ab- 
solution. He  merely  gave  them  his  reasons  for  believing  that 
they  were  no  longer  bound  by  their  oath ;  and,  judgiilg  of  these 
reasons  for  themselves,  as  inteUig^rit  pien,  "ttjey  were  satisfied  ; 
but  if  there  was  any  sophistry,  it  was  jiist  the'^opWstry'-by  which 
the  whole  cause  of  Independence  ^was  sustaii,ied';  for  the  lead- 
ing men,  not  only  in  North  Carolii)Aj  but  in  most  of  'the  other 
colonies,  had  repeatedly  taken  the  same  or  a  similar  oath,  and 
justified  their  conduct  on  the  same  grounds. 

The  battle  of  the  Alamance  was  followed  by  a  temporary 
submission  on  the  part  of  the  people  generally,  so  far,  at  least, 
as  the  payment  of  the  taxes  was  concerned ;  but  it  did  not  sup- 
press the  spirit  of  freedom,  nor  prevent  them  ftom  resisting 
what  was  considered  oppressive  or  felt  to  be  irksome  in  other 
ways.  When  Guilford  county  was  formed,  as  \^e  have  seen, 
only  a  few  months  before  the  battle,  it  was  by  the  same' act  of 
assembly  erected  into  a  parish,  by  the  name  df  Unity  parish  ; 
and  the  people  were  required  to  elect  twelve  vestrymen  and  two 
churchwardens,  v/ho  were  empowered  to  levy  taxes,  build 
churches,  employ   ministers  to  preach,  and  to   do  all  that  the 


174  LIKE  OF  DAVIH  C  ALDVVEI.L.  D.D. 

laws  of  the  province  required  for  the  full  establishment  of  the 
church  of  England  in  this  county  as  it  had  been  established  in 
all  the  other  counties ;  but  the  writer  has  not  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain that  a  house  of  worship  was  ever  buiU  or  a  minister  settled 
here,  or  that  the  people  of  Gililford  county  ever  paid  a  parish 
tax  after  it  was  organized  as  a  county.  If  reports  be  true,  they 
elected  Presbyterians  for  vestrymen,  which  was  equivalent  to 
saying  that  they  had  no  use  for  such  an  estabhshraent ;  and  the 
act  remained  in  force  only  abput  two  3^eaTs;  for  the  assembly 
which  met  at  Newbern,  Jan.  25th,  1773,  passed  an  act  to  dis- 
soivle  the.Tcstry  of  Unity  parish  in  Guilford  county,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy  : 

''•'  Wliereas,  by  an  act  of  assembly  passed  in  Newbern  in  the 
year  of  our- Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-one, 
the  freeholders  within  the  several  parishes  therein  mentioned 
Avere  empowered  to  elect  vestries  for  their  respective  parishes  ; 
and  whereas  undu(^  measures  were  made  use  of  in  the  late  elec- 
tion of  vesfrym9n  in  the  parish  of  Unity  in  Guilford  county: 

"^e  it  ifierefure  enacted  by  the  gove7'nor,  coimcil,  and  assem- 
bly, and'py  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  said  vestry  of 
Unity  parish  be  hereby  dissolved. and  set  aside,  as  if  never  elec- 
ted ;  an3.  fliti't  m'^.taar  that  i's  laid  by  the  ve.^try  aforesaid  on  the 
taxable  pcVsotis  of-tlie  said,  parish,  shall  not  be  chargeable  wpon 
the -said  taxal5le^,  or,  be  deefj^ed,  taleen,  or  collected,hY  the  sher- 
i(]',  or  anf- other  person  wIlHtsoeve'r." 

The  people  of  other  counties,  and  particularly  of  Rowan,  Avhile- 
Guilford  was  a  part  o^  it,  had  adopted  the  practice  of  electing 
vestrymen  who  would 'not  setve,  or  who  would  evade  the  laws 
and  levy  no  parish  taxes;  but  towards  the  close  of  Gov.  Dobbs' 
administration,  the  few  members  of  the  established  church  who 
lived  in  that  county  petitioned  the  governor,  council,  and  assem- 
bly, to  iutejFJ^ose  their  authority  ;  and  an  act  was  passed,  as  we 
have  seen,  s'frbjecting  any  man  who  was  elected,  and  refused  to 
serve',  as  a' vestrymen,  to  a  fine  of  tlu'ee  pounds.  The  petitioners 
complamed,  ';  That  his  majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects 
in  this  county,  who  adhere  to  the  liturgy  and  profess  the  doc- 
Irhies  of  the  church  of  England,  as  by  law  established,  have  not 
the  pvivilegos  antl  advantages  which  the  rubrick  and  canons  of 


LIVE.  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D-D.  17^ 

{lie  church  allow  and  enjoin  on  all  its  liienibers.  .  That  the  acts 
of  assembly  calculated  to  forming  a  regular  vestry  in  all.  the 
counties  have  never  in  this  county  produced  their  happy  fruits. 
That  the  county  of  Rowan,  above  ail  counties  in  the  province, 
lies  under  great  disadvantages,  as  her  inhabitants  are  composed 
almost  of  all  nations  of  Europe  ;  and  instead  of  uniformity  in 
doctrine  and  worsi'ip  they  have  a  medley  of  most  of  the  religious 
tenets  that  have  lately  appeared  in  the  world  ;  who  from  dread 
of  submitting  to  the  national  church,  s'aould  a  lawful  vestry  he 
established,  e/ec/  such  of  i heir  awn  communily  as  evade  the. 
acts  of  assembly  and  refuse  the.  oath,  whence  we  can  never  ex- 
pect the  regular  enlivening  beams  of  the  holy  gospel  to  shine 
upon  us."  This  notable  petition  had  only  thirty  fotir  subscri- 
bers, six  of  whom  made  their,  marks,  and  some  of  the  other  .yz'i,'-- 
naturcs  were  hardly  legible.  Wilhamson,  who  is  my  authority 
here,  says,  "  when  thirty -four  such  persons  could  propose  that 
six  or  seven  hundred  (more  likely  there  were  as  many  thous- 
ands) should  be  taxed  for  their  accommodation,  they  certainly 
had  need  of  the  gospel  that  teaches  humility."  Wiiether  this 
practice  of  resisting  or  evadmg  the  parish  laws  was  continued 
until  the  Revolution,  is  not  known  to  the  writer ;  but  from  tlie 
character  of  the  people,  and  from  the  spirit  which  they  mani- 
fested on  all  occasions  where  thisir  liberties  were  at  stake,  it  may 
be  presumed,  that  if  they  submitted  in  this  case  for  any  length  of 
time,  it  was  from  dire  necessity. 

As  soon  as  Tryon  returned  to  Newborn,  from  his  expedition 
against  the  Regulators,  having  been  appointed  governor  of  New 
York,  he  took  shipping  for  that  province  ;  and  was  succeeded 
here  by  Josiah  Martin,  who  commenced  his  administration  mi- 
der  auspices  ratlier  favorable  than  otherwise  ;  and  his  personal 
and  official  conduct  at  first,  together  with  some  concurring  cir- 
cumstances in  the  province,  were  calculated  to  render  him  po- 
pular. Not  only  the  number  and  respectability  of  the  Regula- 
tors, but  the  spirit  which  they  had  manifested  in  their  late  con- 
flict with  Tryon,  had  commanded  some  respect  from  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Martin  was  to  denounce  the 
frauds  and  extortions  of  the  officeholders  which  had  been  the 
cause  of  the  late  disturbances.     He  was  mild  and.,  conciliatory 


17G  LtFE  OF  IJAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

in  his  manners  ;  and  a  report  had  been  circulated  among  the 
Regulators  that  their  complaints  had  reached  the  throne  and  that 
tbe.removal  of.Tryon.  was  a  mark  of  the  royal  displeasure. — 
These  things  MTeire  all  favorable  ;  but  he  soon  got  into  difficulties 
that  were  inextricable.  His  condemnation  of  his  predecessor's 
profligacy  and  extortion,  in  whicii  he  had  been  supported  for 
five  or  six  years,  chiefly  by  the  lower  part  of  the  province,  which 
would  be  insufferable,  even  at  the  present  day,  though  a  mark 
of  his  wisdom,  provoked  the  hostility  ofTryon's  friends.  Then 
he  got  into  contests  with  both  houses  of  the  legislature,  but  par- 
ticularly with  the  lower  house,  about  the  taxes,  the  court  law,  the 
running  of  the  boundary  line  between  this  province-  and  South 
Carolina,  and  almost  every  thing  of  most  importance  in  the  es- 
timation of  the  people ;  and  these  contests  continued  with  in- 
creasing warmth  and  asperity  until  the  province  renounced  its 
allegiance  to  the  mother  country. 

The  year  1772  was  spent,  by  governor  Martin  in  visiting  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country ;  and  among  otliers  he  paid  a  visit  to 
Guilford  county.  One  object  which  he  had  in  view  was  to  con- 
ciliate the  most  prominent  men  among  the  Regulators  ;  and  he 
was  to  some  extent  successful.  Tryon  was  haughty,  choleric, 
a,nd  absolute.  Vv'ith  high  notions  of  his  prerogative  as  gover- 
nor, he  was  determined  to  rule  ;  and  seemed  to  think  as  the  po- 
et has  said, 

a  prince  thnt  would  reciaira 

Rebel?,  by  ijielding,  is  like  him,  or  worse, 
Who  saddled  his  own  back  to  shame  his  liorsc. 

But  Martin  took  the  opposite  course  ;  and  as  he  was  condescen- 
ding and  familiar  in  his  manners,  the  people  thought  him  "a 
mighty  clever,  genteel  man."  Among  others,  it  is  said,  he  vis- 
ited Col.  WiUiani  Field,  and  his  two  brothers  Jeremiah  and  Rob- 
ert. They  were  men  of  property,  standing  and  influence  in  so- 
ciety ;  and  to  secure  them  was  an  important  object ;  for  which- 
ever way  they  went,  many  others  would  go  with  them.  If  re- 
reports  be  true,  it  was  by  his  influence  that  they  were  secured 
to  the  British  service  ;*  for  otherwise  they  would  have  tried  to 
fomain  neutral ;  or  if  not  jjeutral,  comparatively  inactive;  but 

*''Soii1'!iT?rn  Citizen,  Septemb'or  Otli,  l-^f^T, 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.R.  177 

as  William  was  the  more  influential  one  of  the  two,  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  Colonel  in  the  army.*  William  and  Jeremiah  con- 
tinued in  the  service  of  the  king  during  the  war;  and  were  ta- 
ken with  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  His  lordship  having  then 
given  them  their  ciioice,  either  to  return  home  or  go  to  Nova 
Scotiaj  where  provision  would  be  made  for  them,  they  chose  to 
return  :  but  after  peace  was  concluded  they  suffered  their  pro- 
perty to  be  all  confiscated  and  sold,  in  1785,  rather  than  violate 
their  oath,  or  renounce  their  allegiance  to  king  George.  Jere- 
miah used  frequently  to  say  in  conversation  that  having  fouslit 
twice,  once  for  his  country  and  once  for  his  king,  and  having 
been  whipped  botli  times,  he  would  fight  no  more  ;  but  general- 
ly added  that,  if  war  were  to  arise  again  between  England  and 
America,  though  he  would  not  fight  at  his  age,  he  would  be  on 
the  side  of  the  king,  because  he  had  taken  a  solemn  oath  to  be 
faithful  to  him  while  he  lived  ;  but  he  would  tell  all  Ins  sons  to 
fight  for  their  country.  Many  others  took  the  same  course  ; 
and,  although  they  were  manifestly  wrong,  it  was  for  the  v/ant 
of  better  information  ;  but  they  were  respected  while  they  lived 
for  their  integrity,  their  christian  deportment,  and  their  many 
good  qualities  as  men  and  as  citizens ;  and  their  descendants 

*Just  before  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek,  in  the  spring  of  1776,  Willinm 
Field  collected  a  small  body  of  men  and  started  for  (lie  Scotch  Vamp,  then, 
as  he  siippoi^ed,  in  or  about  Cross  Creek  ;  and  m  his  party  was  a  youth,  17  or 
18  years  of  aire,  by  the  name  of  John  Cavin,  who,  having  been  lott  a  poor 
orphan  boy,  wa'*  raised  amono;  the  Quakers  of  New  Garden,  and  was  now  wA 
away  by  thp  influence  of  Field.  They  had  not  gone  tar  until  they  licnrd  of 
the  defeat  of  their  party  ;  and  while  Field,  with  a  W\\  others,  went  onto 
join  the  British  at  VVilminotori,  Cavin  returned  home;  but  feclinsj  perfiaps 
that  he  had  not  done  exactly  right,  and  being  afraid  of  the  wlurrs.  he  remain- 
ed for  a  few  days  concealed  ;  for  he  tliought  if  tiiey  should  find  him  and 
know  what  he  had  dope,  they  Wdiild  make -ad  work  with  him.  At  lengtii, 
however,  he  ventured  out  ;  hut  had  not  gone  far  front  the  house  when  a  squad 
of  them  came  ridino-  up;  and,  allhouigh  they  were  strangers  to  him  personal- 
ly, he  knew  them  to  he  whigs  froin  their  hiivinffdeer  tails  stuck  in  their  hats 
as  badges  of  distinction.  Having  very  soon  asked  him,  amona-  other  things, 
where  he  was  goin^r,  with  promptness,  though  with  some  trepidation,  he  re- 
plied that  be  wa.s  hunting  a  broom  stick,  for  he  wanted  to  mike  a  broom  and 
and  sweep  all  the  o — n"d  tories  out  of  the  country.  With  that  they  left  him, 
thinking  probably  that  he  had  no  more  S"nse  than  he  ought  to  have,  whatever 
they  might  have  thought  of  his  honesty  ;  but  as  soon  as  Independence  was 
declared,  he  enlisted  in  the  army  tor  a  year.  At  the  expiintion  of  lint  term 
he  returned  to  visit  his  friends;  but  immediately  enlisted  an-ain,  and  served 
during  the  war.  When  peace  was  concluded  he  returned  with  two  honorable 
scars ;  and  soon  after  married  and  removed  to  the  we?t. 
?3 


178  LIFE  OF  JSAVII)  CALDWELL,  I).D, 

livc  to  (his  day  estimated  very  differently  from  the  desccndaui 
of  those  who  were  of  an  opposite  character. 

Soon  after  Martin  commenced  his  administration,  the  veil  of 
oblivion  was,  at  his  recommendation,  thrown  over  all  the  past 
disturbances,  and  over  all  the  distinctions  and  animosities  to 
which  they  had  given  rise,  by  an  act  of  assembly,  passed  with 
much  unanimity,  granting  a  general  pardon  to  all  who  had  been 
concerned  in  the  late  rebellion,  and  makhig  provision  for  the 
prevention  of  lawsuit-s  and  vexatious  prosecutions ;  and  so  far 
all  was  promioing ;  but  the  other  causes  of  dissatisfaction,  alrea-. 
dy  noticed,  would  soon  have  rendered  his  situation  as  unpleas- 
ant as  that  of  his  predecessor  had  been.  The  people,  however, 
if  they  did  not  lose  sight  of  their  internal  grievances  or  causes 
of  complaint,  had  their  attention  turned  to  the  great  source  from 
which  they  proceeded ;  for  while  they  remained  subject  to  the 
British  government,  as  was  becoming  manifest  from  the  spirit 
and  measures  of  that  government,  they  must  be  burdened  with 
an  unknown  amount  of  arbitrary  taxation,  and  harassed  by  a 
rapacious  set  of  oflicers,  over  whose  appointment  they  had  no 
control,  and  whose  only  security  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices 
was  the  royal  favor.  We  need  not  enumerate  the  causes  of  the 
Revolution  ;  for  it  is  supposed  that  all  are  acquainted  with  them; 
but  it  was  an  event  of  such  transcendent  magnitude,  involved 
so  many  interests  of  vital  importance,  and  was  beset  by  diffi- 
culties so  great  that  it  required  the  counsels  and  co-operation  of 
all  classes  of  the  community;  and  all  who  were  friends  to  tiic 
rights  of  man  and  the  interests  of  pure  religion  were  drawn  to- 
gether and  united  in  a  common,  determined  and  persevering  ef- 
fort for  Independence. 

Civil  and  religious  liberty  are  essentially  the  same,  or  at  least 
are  inseparable  ;  and  in  our  case  at  the  period  to  which  we  re- 
fer, both  were  at  stake.  Our  civil  rights,  if  not  entirely  taken 
away,  Avere  partially  gone  ;  and  principles  had  been  asserted  by 
the  British  parliament,  and  carried  out  to  some  extent,  which, 
in  a  little  time,  would  not  have  left  us  even  the  name  of  liberty. 
The  church  of  England  was  already  established  in  this  and  some 
oilier  colonies;  audit  was  bcheved  that  a  settled  purpose  had 
been  formed  in  the  mother  country,  to  make  its  establishment 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  17i> 

co-extensive  with  the  British  possessions  in  America.  Wlien 
therefore  ail  that  was  most  dear  and  valuable  was  at  stake,  no 
wonder  that  those  who  loved  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness, or  who  valued  their  rights,  as  men  and  as  christians,  should 
exert  whatever  influence  they  had,  to  obtain  a  redress  of  tlieir 
present  grievances,  and  to  secure  themselves  against  a  power 
which  had  assumed  so  threatening  an  aspect. 

The  discomlitnre  of  the  Regulators,  seems  to  have  had  no 
effect  towards  bringing  the  mass  of  the  people  into  subjection ; 
for  if  they  were  in  some  respects  unprepared,  and  wholly  unable 
to  contend  with  the  gigantic  power  of  Great  Britain,  they  un- 
derstood their  rights  too  well,  and  valued  their  liberties  too 
highly,  to  be  patient  under  oppression.  The  causes  of  dissatis- 
faction, so  far  from  being  removed,  were  receiving  daily  aggra- 
vations, from  the  unjust  and  tyrannical  measures  of  the  mother 
country;  and  the  spirit  of  resistance,  instead  of  being  crushed  or 
overawed,  was  daily  acquiring  greater  vigor,  and  pervading  all 
the  departments  of  society.  Except  along  the  sea  board  or  near 
the  seat  of  the  colonial  government,  the  people  of  North  Caroli- 
na would  hardly  have  known  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as 
government  in  the  country,  but  for  its  oppressions;  and  being 
strarjgers  to  t.he  influence  of  time-hallowed  institutions,  as  well 
as  to  the  pomp  and  parade  of  royality,  even  in  their  mimic  forms, 
they  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  freedom  which  reigned  in  the  na- 
tive wilds  of  their  country,  and  seemed  to  animate  the  living  or- 
ders of  creation  around  them.  While  intelligence  was  eagerly 
sought,  every  accession  to  their  knowledge  in  relation  to  their 
rights  and  their  grievances,  only  created  a  desire  for  more  ;  and 
when  obtained,  it  Avas  treasured  up,  not  only  for  reflection  but 
for  conversation  wherever  they  met.  There  were  no  newspa- 
I)ers  circulating  among  the  people  then  as  at  present;  but  what 
was  done  by  the  legislature  of  one  province  being  immediately 
communicated  to  that  of  every  other,  and  to  the  continental 
congress,  when  it  was  formed,  they  obtained  a  knowledge  of 
public  affairs  from  their  representatives,  and  in  other  ways. — 
Those  wiio  were  able  procured  pamplilets  and  papers  for  circu- 
lation ;  and  men  of  intelligence  either  took  it  u]ion  themselves 
or  were  sent  by  some  official  body  to  visit  diflerent  parts  of  the 


IJ'O  LIFK  Ok-   JIAVIU  CALlJVVKl.L,  D.D. 

country  and  inform  the  people  as  to  the  nature  of  the  approach- 
ing contest; — so  that  the  people  then  appear  not  only  to  have 
"been  familiar  with  the  uames,  but  to  have  known  as  much  a- 
bout  the  character,  principles  and  employment  of  all  the  princi- 
pal men  in  England  connected  with  the  government,  the  Bed- 
ford Ministry,  Lord  North,  the  earl  of  Chatham,  Bnrke,  Fox, 
and  others,  as  those  of  the  same  class  at  the  present  day  know 
about  the  men  who  administer  their  own  government.  The 
different  acts  of  Parliament  as  they  were  passed  in  succession, 
such  as  the  restriciion  on  the  fisheries,  the  shutting  up  of  the  port 
of  Boston,  the  quartering  of  soldiers  on  the  people  here  in  time 
of  peace,  the  stopping  of  legislation  in  New  York,  the  attempts, 
after  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act,  to  tax  the  colonies  in  other 
forms  and  under  various  pretexts,  the  recall  or  modification  of 
the  colonial  charters,  &c.,  were  all  discussed  at  their  firesides, 
their  log-rollings,  or  wherever  they  met :  and  thus  they  were 
preparing  to  assert  their  independence  and  to  maintain  their 
rights. 

But,  probably,  no  revolution  in  government  was  ever  made, 
in  any  age  or  country,  in  which  religion  or  the  ministers  of  re- 
ligion had  not  an  important  influence,  directly  or  indirectly  ;  and 
in  that  which  we  are  now  considering  the  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel had  an  essential  influence  ;  for,  if  they  had  been  generally 
opposed  to  a  revolution  or  change  of  the  government,  it  couid 
not  have  been  effected.  The  cliurch  establishment  seems  to 
have  had  but  few  friends;  for,  so  far  as  is  known,  not  an  ef- 
fort was  made  for  its  preservation,  and  not  a  tear  was  shed  for 
its  downfall.  Aii  established  religion,  or  a  religion  upheld  by 
the  civil  power,  has  generally  been  an  appendage  to  monarchy, 
and  is  perhfips  necessary  to  its  support;  but  the  two  have,  in 
most  cases,  been  so  connected  that  the  one  could  not  be  overturn- 
ed without  the  other.  In  some  of  the  colonies,  as  in  Virginia, 
great  efforts  were  made  to  retain  the  church  establishment ;  but 
it  was  obliged  to  go  dovvfu  with  the  pouter  by  whicli  it  had  been 
sup})orted.  The  measures  of  the  British  government  had  bcr 
come  so  arbitrary  and  oppressive  ;  and  its  claims  were  so  arro- 
gant, unfounded  and  extensive,  that  most  of  the  christian  de- 
nominations in   the  country,  finding  all  their    most  valuable 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  ISl 

rights,  as  men  and  as  christians,  either  taken  away,  or  in  dan- 
ger, united  in  the  common  effort  to  gain  their  Independence  ; 
and  in  this,  among  some  of  the  deiiominations,  they  were  sup- 
ported and  encouraged  by  their  ministers.  Ramsay,  who  is 
one  of  our  best  historians,  says,  "  Most  of  the  Episcopal  minis- 
ters, of  the  nortliern  provinces,  were  pensioners  on  the  bounty 
of  the  British  government.  The  greatest  part  of  tficir  clergy, 
and  many  of  their  laity,  in  those  provinces,  were  therefore  dis- 
posed to  snj^port  a  connexion  witii  Great  Britain."  But  in  tlie 
southern  provinces,  he  teUs  us,  it  was  different;  or  there  were 
more  exceptions  among  their  clergy  in  favor  of  Independence, 
because  here  they  were  not  so  depenaent  on  the  British  crown. 
In  North  Carohna,  the  clergy  belonging  to  the  estabUshed 
church,  with  very  few  exceptions,  left  the  country  ;  but  the  peo- 
ple, or  a  large  portion  of  them,  who  were  attached  to  that  as  an 
Episcopal  church,  engaged  heartily  in  the  cause  of  Indepen- 
dence. 

"  The  Quakers,  with  a  few  exceptions,  were  averse  to  Inde- 
pendence. In  Pennsylvania  they  were  numerous ;  and  had 
power  in  their  hands.  Revolutions  in  government  are  rarely 
patronized  by  any  body  of  men,  who  foresee  that  a  diminution 
of  their  own  influence  is  likely  to  result  from  the  change.  Qua- 
kers, from  religious  principles,  were  averse  to  war;  and  there- 
fore could  not  be  friendly  to  a  revolution  which  could  be  effected 
only  by  the  sword."  The  Quakers  are  as  much  opposed  to 
church  establishments  and  as  warm  friends  to  liberty  as  any 
other  class  of  people  ;  and  in  North  Carolina  they  had  given 
suflicient  proof  of  both  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  colony ; 
but  for  the  reasons  given  in  the  above  extract,  they  preferred 
submission  to  the  established  government,  unjust  and  oppressive 
as  it  was,  to  the  bloodshed  and  calamities  of  war.  "  The  Irish 
in  America,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  were  attached  to  Inde- 
pendence. They  had  fled  from  oppression  in  their  native  coun- 
try ;  and  could  not  brook  the  idea  that  it  should  follow  them. 
Their  natural  prepossessions  in  favor  of  liberty  were  strengihened 
by  their  religious  opinions.  They  were  generally  Presbyterians; 
and  people  of  tliat  denomination,  for  reasons  hereafter  to  be  ex- 
plained, were  mostly  whigs."     Again.  "The  Presbyterians  and 


182  LIKE    OF  DA  VIP  CAldWELL,  D.D. 

Independents  were,  almost  universally,  attached  to  the  measures 
of  congress.  Tlieir  religious  societies  are  governed  on  a  repub- 
lican plan.  From  Independence  they  had  much  to  hope  ;  but 
from  Great  Britain,  if  finally  successful,  they  had  reason  to  fear 
the  establishment  of  a  church  heirarcliy."  The  Presbyterian 
ministers  from  north  to  south  advocated  independence;  and  on 
the  most  liberal  principles,  wishing  ail  to  be  placed  on  an  equal- 
ity, both  as  to  their  civil  and  their  religious  rights.  In  North 
Carolina,  where  they  appear  to  have  been  more  numerous  and 
more  influential  than  those  of  any  other  denomination  at  that 
time,  they  took  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  make  the  people  acquain- 
ted with  their  rights  ;  with  the  oppressions  wliich  they  were  en- 
during, and  with  their  duty  in  view  of  the  approaching  crisis  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  every  means  was  employed  and  every  oppor- 
tunity was  improved,  such  as  conversation  on  all  suitable  occa- 
sions, instruction  from  the  pulpit,  and  expressions  of  their  views 
and  sentiments  in  various  forms  in  the  judicatories  of  the  church, 
Y/hicli  were  circulated  or  read  in  their  congregations. 

Matters  of  this  kind,  or  notices  of  individual  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  excluded  as  they  are  from  a  direct  agency  in  the  political 
affairs  of  the  country,  might  not  comport  with  the  design  of  gen- 
eral history ;  but  in  the  life  of  one  who  was  prominent  and  influ- 
ential in  his  sphere,  they  cannot  be  deemed  out  of  place.  What- 
ever may  be  said  or  thought,  in  ordinary  times,  about  the  pro- 
priety of  introducing  politics  into  the  pulpit,  no  man  of  enlight- 
ened views  and  patriotic  feelings  could  object  to  it  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, when  liberty  and  every  thing  valuable  was  at  stake. 
The  influence  of  the  pulpit  is  confessedly  great  every  where  and 
at  all  times  ;  nor  should  it  ever  be  desecrated,  or  perverted  from 
its  legitimate  and  proper  use  ;  but  if  those  who  occupy  it  are 
never  to  lift  up  their  voice  against  corruption  in  high  places,  or 
against  the  iniquity  and  oppression  of  rulers,  they  must  be  un- 
faithful to  their  high  trust ;  for  they  must  then  neglect  a  part  of 
the  coimsel  of  God  and  swerve  from  the  example  of  the  apos- 
tles and  prophets,  who  were  required  to  denounce,  with  fideli- 
ty and  fearlessness,  the  bribery  and  corruption,  the  haughtiness 
and  oppression  of  kings  and  rulers.  With  the  connnon  course 
of  politics,  or  with  political  measures  which  relate  merely  to  the 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  1S3 

prosperity  and  improvement  of  the  country,  ministers  sliould 
have  nothing  to  do  in  the  pulpit ;  nor  out  of  it,  in  any  way  that 
would  lessen  their  ministerial  influence;  but  measures  of  gov- 
ernment that  proceed  from  a  want  of  moral  principle,  that  are 
fraught  with  injustice  and  corruption,  or  that  tend  to  oppression 
and  threaten  the  subversion  of  human  liberty,  are  as  legitimate 
objects  of  denunciation  and  warning  from  the  pulpit  as  any 
thing  else.  If  truth  is  to  be  maintained  in  its  purity  and  the  or- 
dinances of  the  church  kept  from  profanation,  the  liberties  of 
the  people  must  be  preserved  ;  for  v.'-hen  man  undertakes  to  in- 
terfere with  the  freedom  of  conscience  in  others,  he  must  exer- 
cise a  power  equally  extensive  in  other  things :  and  if  corrup- 
tion should  ever  become  so  extended  in  this  coimtry,  and  the  iron 
sceptre  of  rising  despotism  be  so  firmly  grasped  by  those  in  au- 
thority, as  to  overturn  or  menace  tlie  liberties  of  the  people,  the 
eyes  of  every  patriot  in  the  land  would  be  again  most  anxiously 
and  imploringly  turned,  as  they  were  in  bygone  days,  to  those 
who  minister  at  the  altar. 

After  the  difficulties  became  serious,  and  especially  after  the 
meeting  of  the  continental  congress,  Dr.  Caldwell  often  preached 
on  the  subject  of  the  existing  difficulties  between  England  and 
the  American  colonies ;  and  although  he  was  a  great  lover  of" 
peace,  and  would  make  any  reasonable  sacrifices  to  maintain  it, 
yet  when  fundamental  principles  or  important  interests  were  at 
stake,  and  he  saw  any  prospect  of  success,  he  was  decided,  firm 
and  persevering.  Hardly  a  Sabbath  passed  in  which  he  did  not 
allude  to  the  subject  in  some  way  or  other;  and  while  he  de- 
nounced, in  the  strongest  terms,  the  corruptions  and  oppressions 
of  the  existing  government,  he  exhorted  his  hearers,  with  equal 
energy  and  zeal,  to  value  their  liberties  above  every-  thing  else, 
and  to  stand  up  manfully  in  their  defence ;  but  although  he 
preached  so  much  on  this  subject,  and  at  that  period  generally 
Vvrrote  his  sermons,  only  one  remains,  and  that  is  somewhat  mu- 
tilated. How  it  escaped  when  the  rest  of  his  papers  and  his 
books  were  burned,  is  not  known  ;  but  either  it  must  have  been 
in  some  corner  of  the  house  where  they  did  not  find  it,  or  it  was 
dropt  by  the  way,  in  the  hurry  and  confusion,  when  carrying  it 
out  to  the  fire,  so  that  it  was  trodden  in  the  dust  and  left  unno 


184  LIFE  OK  PAVIJ)  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

ticed  ;  and  judging  from  the  appearance  of  the  manuscript,  the 
conchision  would  be  that  this  was  the  way  in  which  it  escaped 
the  fate  of  the  rest.  When  the  writer  came  into  this  county  a 
number  of  years  ago  the  old  people  who  were  then  living  in  his 
congregations  and  wlio  well  remembered  those  times, mentioned 
a  number  of  other  texts  on  which  they  had  heard  him  preach 
in  relation  to  the  pending  contest ;  and  tiiey  said  that  the  sermon 
wiiich  has  been  preserved  and  which  is  inserted  at  the  end  of 
this  volume,  was  by  no  means  the  best.  It  seems  to  have  been 
oi:ie  with  which  he  had  taken  no  pams  whatever  ;  or  it  was  one 
of  what  may  be  called  his  every  day  sermons ;  but  it  shews  his 
high-toned  feelings  of  patriotism  and  the  facility  with  which  he 
could  make  a  common  text  bear  upon  such  an  uncommon  sub- 
ject. It  is  not  in  that  elegance  of  style  in  which  some  men  of 
more  leisure  and  under  more  favorable  circumstances  would 
write,  or  in  which  he  himself  would  have  written  had  he  intend- 
ed it  for  the  eye  as  well  as  for  the  ear  of  the  public  ;  but  the 
wonder  is  how  he  could  find  time  to  write  at  all ;  and  although 
it  was  evidently  written  in  haste,  under  a  pressure  of  other  bu- 
siness, and  witiiout  any  thought  of  its  ever  coming  before  the 
public  in  this  form,  it  is  thought  best  to  give  it  just  as  he  left  it, 
with  some  mere  verbal  corrections,  and  the  addition  of  a  few 
sentences  to  keep  up  the  connexion  in  one  or  two  places  where 
the  manuscript  was  mutilated.  It  is  here  published  partly  be- 
cause it  is  worth  reading  any  where,  and  partly  because  it  is  a 
relick  of  those  times  which,  we  have  no  doubt,  every  one  will 
be  glad  to  see.  From  the  internal  evidence  it  appears  to  have 
been  written  very  shortly  before  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, and  while  that  matter  was  under  discussion  in  congress, 
probably  in  May  or  June ;  and  this  gives  it  perhaps  an  addi- 
tional interest. 

Most  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  in  North  Carolina  and 
throughout  the  Union  pursued  a  similar  course  ;  and  with  very 
gratifying  success ;  for  wherever  a  minister  of  that  denomina- 
tion was  settled,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  peo- 
ple around  him  were  whigs,  almost  to  a  man.  Some  two  or 
three  able  and  popular  men,  of  whom  Dr.  McWhorter  was  one, 
tvero  also  sent  out  from  the   north  to  travel  over  tlie  southern: 


LlViu  OF  DAVID  CALDW'KLL,  D.D.  1S;> 

States,  and  particularly  among  the  Presbyterian  population,  for 
the  purpose  ofenlighieniiig  t'leni  on  the  subject  of  ilie  pending 
contest  and  of  engaging  tliein  in  the  cause  of  Independence.  In 
the  Orange  Presbytery  there  was  perhaps  one, and  only  one  mem- 
ber, who  remained  neutral  for  a  while,  merely  from  an  excess 
of  cm/lion,  which  is  said  to  have  been  a  prominent  trait  in  his 
character;  but  he  soon  came  out  on  the  side  of  liberty.  So  far 
as  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  there  were  in  the  Scotch  settle- 
ments at  that  time  only  one  or  two  Presbyterian  ministers;  and 
of  these  the  Rev.  Colin  M'lver  has  given  me  the  following  ac- 
count :  "The  Rev.  James  Campbell  was  a  whig.  In  proof  of 
this  fact,  a  grandson  of  his,  who  is  sti'.l  living,  and  who  resides 
in  this  place,  informs  me,  that,  in  making  his  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, he  manifested  his  displeasure  against  his  eldest  son,  by 
bequeathing  much  more  of  his  property  to  his  younger  sons 
than  to  him ; — because  they  were  ivhigs  and  he  was  a  tory. — 
The  next  Presbyterian  minister,  settling  in  these  parts,  of  whom 
I  can  learn  any  thing,  was  the  Rev.  John  McLeod.  He  came 
directly  to  this  country  from  Scotland,  in  the  year  1770.  He 
was  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  families,  who  migrated 
from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  who,  on  their  arrival  in  N, 
Carolina,  settled  chiefly  in  Cumberland  county ;  and  formed 
themselves  into  several  congregations,  of  which  he  took  the  pas- 
toral charge.  I  think  it  probable  that  he  was  the  original  foun- 
der of  the  congregations  now  known  as  the  congregation  of  the 
Bluff,  and  the  congregation  of  Barbeque  ;  for  it  is  certain  that 
he  was  pastor  of  those  churches.  He  possessed  very  popular 
talents,  and  was  considered  as  a  man  of  solid  worth  and  emi- 
nent piety.  It  is  probable  that  his  joo////ca/ sentiments  were  tlie 
reverse  of  those  of  Mr.  Campbell.  Mr.  McLeod  continued  to 
preach  in  this  neighbohood  from  the  year  1770  until  the  com- 
mencement of  those  disturbances  which  preceded  the  Revolu- 
tionary War;  and  which  took  place  in  1773.  About  this  time 
he  left  America,  with  a  view  of  returning  to  his  native  country; 
and  having  never  since  been  heard  of,  it  is  believed  that  he  per- 
ished on  the  high  seas."  Mr.  McLeod  never  had  any  connex- 
tion  with  the  Orange  Presbytery  ;  but  Mr.  Campbell^  or  one  of 
the  same  name,  had  for  S  or  10  years. 
24 


186  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

While  a  number  of  the  Scotch  were  as  good  whigs  as  any  m 
the  country,  the  majority  of  them,  although  they  liad  sacrificed 
much  to  liberty  ni  their  own  country,  supported  the  claims  of 
Great  ]]ritain  in  America.  F'or  this  many  reasons  have  been 
assigned  ;  but  the  most  cogent  were  such  as  the  following  :  The 
older  part  of  them  had  felt  the  efl'ects  of  British  power  so  nuich 
in  the  land  of  their  nativity,  particularly  at  and  after  the  battle  of 
CuUoden,  that  they  dreaded  to  encounter  that  power  again ;  their 
nation  had  for  some  time  previous  shared,  as  they  thought,  quite 
liberally  in  the  royal  favor  for  which,  with  their  characteristic 
generosity  and  sense  of  gratitude,  they  felt  themselves  under  ob- 
ligations on  that  account,  though  personally  beyond  its  reach; 
and  tlien  all  their  chieftains,  or  prominent  and  influential  men 
had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  King  George  before  they 
crossed  the  Atlantic.  A  venerable  and  excellent  old  man  who 
had  home  a  pretty  high  commission  in  the  British  service  dur- 
ing the  war,  remarked  in  presence  of  the  writer,  some  years  ago, 
that  he  had  sworn  allegiance  to  the  king  of  England,  when  in 
London,  about  to  take  shipping  for  America  ;  and  he  felt  him- 
self bound  by  that  oath.  Tlie  obligation  of  an  oath  is  one  which 
a  conscientious  people,  like  the  Scotch,  especially  when  left  with- 
out proper  instruction  as  most  ofthemwereat  that  time,  can- 
lint  be  easily  induced  to  violate  ;  and  their  course  in  this  matter, 
though  evidently  wrong,  as  all  the  better  part  of  them  were  rea- 
dy to  acknowlodgvj  afierwards,  was  ciedilable  to  them  as  a  c/wi.s- 
iiun  people. 

The  Germans  who,  as  we  have  seen,  were  numerous  in  this 
State,  labored  under  great  disadvantages.  They  had  but  few 
preachers  ;  and  if  my  information  be  correct,  so^ne  of  them 
were  not  calculated  to  enlighten  the  people,  or  to  elevate  their 
character.  The  older  and  more  influential  part  of  them  hardly 
knew  a  word  of  English  ;  and  of  course  could  not  so  well  un- 
derstand the  merits  of  the  controversy  ;  but  so  far  as  they  did 
understand  it,  tiiey  were  sound  whigs  and  good  soldiers.  The 
same  or  a  similar  remark  may  be  applied  to  many  others.  In 
fact  the  mass  of  the  people  in  the  back  country,  for  some  time, 
jieither  knew  nor  cared  much  about  certain  things  which  were 
regarded  by  statesmen  and  men  of  intelligence  as  matters  of  vi- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  157 

tal  importance  ;*  but  their  patriotism  and  their  attachment  to 
the  great  principles,  in  defence  of  which  the  wnr  of  Indepen- 
dence was  waged,  kept  pace  with  their  information. 

The  views  entertained  and  expressed  pubhcly  by  the  Presby- 
terian ministers  of  that  day  were  liberal  and  patriotic.  The  sy- 
nod of  New  York  and  Pliiladelphia,  which  met  in  the  city  oi' 
New  York,  May  17tli,  1775,  wrote  a  pastoral  letter  to  the 
churches  and  people  under  their  care,  in  which,  after  recom- 
mending that  they  retain  their  allegiance  to  the  reignmg  sove- 
reign, king  George,  as  well  as  to  the  revolution  principles  by 
which  ho  had  been  placed  upon  the  throne  ;  and  that  they  would 
especially  leave  nothing  undone  that  might  tend  to  preserve  the 
union  which  then  subsisted  through  all  the  colonies,  they  use 
the  following  language  :  "In  particular,  as  the  continental  con- 
gress, now  sitting  at  Philadelphia,  consists  of  delegates  chosen 
in  the  most  free  and  unbiassed  manner,  by  the  body  of  the  peo- 
ple, let  them  not  only  be  treated  with  respect,  and  encouraged 
in  their  difficult  service — not  only  let  your  prayers  be  offered 
up  to  God  for  his  direction  in  their  proceedings — but  adhere 
firmly  to  their  resolutions ;  and  let   it  be   seen  that  they  arc 

*Tiie  following  extract  of  a  letter,  received  some  lime  atro,  from  an  old 
penllem:!!?,  who,  trcin  his  intelligence  and  oreat  respect.ibilitv,  is  considered 
perfectly  good  fiutiiority,  and  etipecitilly  as  he  had  lived  all  his  life  in  the 
neigliborhood  where  the  incident  occurred,  furnishes  an  amusing  illustration 
of  the  above  statenient  It  refers  to  ilie  time  when  the  excitement  began  to 
prevail  about  the  duty  on  tea;  and  when  the  patriotic  ladies  in  our  sea  port 
towns  were  forming  anti-lea  associations. — lie  «ayt-',  "  I  will  now  give  yo-j 
an  anecdote  which  I  have  olten  ln-ard  repeated  with  great  humor  by  the  good 
old  mothers  of  tliat  diy.  Mr.  B.,  who  was  afterwards  a  military  officer  of 
high  rank  during  the  war,  then  kept  a  country  store  ;  and  in  one  of  his  trips 
to  Phihul'dphia  for  goods,  he  purchased  a  pound  of  tea,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity. 
When  it  arrived,  a  gentleman  of  high  etandiiig  in  the  neighborhood,  happened 
to  be  at  his  house  ;  and,  on  his  accepting  an  invitation  to  stay  lor  dinner,  Mr. 
B.  whispered  to  his  wife  to  let  them  have  some  of  their  nevv'  tea  for  dinner. — 
She  boiled  a  ham  of  bacon  ;  and  put  in  a  part  ot  the  tea  with  it.  She  boiled 
and  boiled  ;  but  could  not  get  it  done,  or  in  a  condition  fit  to  eat.  The  tea 
was  spoiled;  Mrs.  B  was  mortified;  and  an  unfavorable  impression  was 
made  on  the  neighbors,  as  to  the  importance  of  the  controver-sy  on  that  sub- 
ject. When  the  Boston  boys  threw  the  tea  overboard,  and  the  news  of  war 
gprend  far  ami  wide,  the  question  went  round  the  neighborhood,  whether  there 
was  sufficient  cause  tor  war.  The  answer  given  v^'as  for  taxing  the  tea,  with- 
out a  dissenting  voice.  One  and  all  d — nd  the  tea;  and  said  they  might  tax 
that  as  much  as  they  pleased,  for  they  never  had  seen  any,  and  they  had  no 
use  for  it ;  but  when  the  matter  was  explained,  and  they  understood  the  prin- 
ciple which  was  involved,  they  were  just  as  much  united  the  other  way." 


18S  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

able  to  bring  out  the  whole  strength  of  this  vast  country  to  car- 
ry them  into  execution.  We  would  also  advise,  for  the  same 
purpose,  that  a  spirit  of  candor,  charity,  and  mutual  esteem,  be 
preserved  and  promoted  towards  those  of  different  religious  de- 
nominations. Persons  of  probity  and  principle,  of  every  pro- 
fession, should  be  united  together  as  servants  of  the  same  mas- 
ter ;  and  the  experience  of  our  happy  concord  iiitherto  in  a  state 
of  liberty,  should  encourage  all  to  unite  in  support  of  th.e  com- 
mon interest ;  for  there  is  no  exarnple  in  history,  in  which  ci- 
vil liberty  was  destroyed,  and  the  rights  of  conscience  preser- 
ved entireP  Again,  after  urging  the  necessity  of  ecclesiastical 
discipline,  of  sobriety  and  good  order  in  society,  and  of  a  moral 
and  christian  deportment  in  all  the  members  of  the  church,  they 
say,  that  "  the  greatest  service  which  magistrates,  or  persons  in 
authority,  can  do,  is  to  defend  and  secure  the  rights  of  con- 
science in  the  tnost  equal  and  impartial  manner.''^  Although 
the  question  of  a  separation  from  Great  Britain  was,  at  that 
time,  hardly  stirred  in  any  of  the  political  assemblies,  it  may  be 
inferred  that  there  were  some  remarks  made  on  it  at  this  meet- 
ing of  synod,  at  least  by  individuals;  for  one  member  ^'■dissen- 
ted from  that  paragraph  of  said  letter  which  contains  the  dec- 
larations of  allegiance.''^  During  the  war  the  same  synod,  then 
the  highest  judicatory  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  this  coun- 
try, made  the  following  declaration,  and  entered  it  on  their  re- 
cords :  "It  having  been  represented  to  synod,  that  the  Presby- 
terian church  suffers  greatly  in  the  opinion  of  other  denomina- 
tions, from  an  apprehension  that  they  hold  intolerant  principles, 
the  synod  do  solemnly  and  publicly  declare,  that  they  ever  have, 
and  still  do  renounce  and  abhor  the  prmciplos  of  intolerance  ; 
and  we  do  believe  that  every  peaceable  member  of  civil  society 
ought  to  be  protected  in  xhefull  and  fj'ce  exercise  of  their  reli- 
gion." There  is  not  a  denomination  in  the  United  States  that 
has  given  more  unequivocal  proofs,  than  the  Presbyterians,  of 
an  honest  desire  that  the  church  siiould  be  kept  separate  from 
the  State,  or  that  all  should  enjoy  equal  privileges,  civil  and  re- 
ligious; and  none  that  has  done  more  to  establish  and  maintain 
an  equality  of  rights. 

Tije  Presbytery  of  Ilanpvcr,  in  1776,  memorialized  the  gen- 


LIFE  OF  DAVIP    CALDWELL,  D.D.  189 

eral  assembly  of  Virginia  on  this  subject  in  a  most  able  and  for- 
cible manner.  After  staling  the  grounds  on  which  they  petition- 
ed for  a  free  toleration  in  rehgious  opinions  and  forms  of  wor- 
ship, for  themselves  and  for  all  other  classes  of  men,  even  infidels 
and  Mahomedans ;  after  enumerating  the  oppressions  and  in- 
vidious restrictions  to  which  they  had  hitiicrto  been  subjected 
by  having  to  pay  a  heavy  tax  annually  for  the  support  of  the 
establishment,  &c.;  and  after  arguing  the  case  both  from  reason 
and  scripture,  they  entreat  that  the  laws  the^i  in  force,  which 
gave  one  religious  denomination  a  preference  over  others,  might 
be  speedily  repealed — "that  all,  of  every  religious  sect,  may  be 
protected  in  tlie  full  exercise  of  their  several  modes  of  worship  ; 
and  exempted  from  all  taxes  for  the  support  of  any  church  what- 
soever, fnrther  than  what  may  be  agreeable  to  their  own  private 
clioice,  or  voluntary  obligation."  The  general  association  of 
the  J3aptists  in  Virginia  also  sent  a  memorial  to  the  general  as- 
sembly of  that  State,  through  a  committee  which  had  been 
appointed  by  a  resolution  passed  at  their  meeting  in  1775, 
praying  "  that  the  church  establishment  might  be  abolished,  and 
that  religion  might  be  allowed  to  stand  upon  its  own  basis."  In 
North  Carolina  no  efforts  of  the  kind  were  found  to  be  necessary, 
for  tliC  church  establishment  seems  to  have  had  so  few  friends, 
that,  in  changing  the  government,  it  was  hardly  noticed;  and 
there  was  such  a  prevalence  of  correct  views  on  the  subject  of 
religious  as  well  as  civil  liberty,  that  the  present  system  of  free 
toleration  and  equal  rights  found  a  response  in  the  bosoms  of  all, 
or  nearly  all,  who  had  authority  to  act  in  the  matter.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  only  move  which  was  made  with  a  view  of  call- 
ing the  attention  of  the  legislatiA^e  authority  to  this  subject  was 
made  by  Dr.  Caldwell ;  but  it  was  soon  found  tliat  any  applica- 
tion of  the  kind  was  unnecessary. 

The  Presbytery  of  Orange  met  at  Sugar  Creek,  April  2nd, 
1776  ;  and  Dr.  Caldwell,  having  been  prevented  from  attending, 
wrote  them  a  letter,  suggesting  the  propriety  of  applying  to  the 
provincial  congress,  then  about  to  meet  in  Halifax, — "if  said  con- 
gress should  assume  the  reins  of  government," — through  Mr. 
Avery  who  was  a  member  of  that  body,  for  relief  from  the  re- 
strictions and  oppressions  to  which  they,  in  common  with  other 


190  LIFE  OF  DAVID  C ALD WELL.  D.D. 

dissenters,  were  subjected  by  the  church  estabUshmcnt.  The 
Presbytery,  having  taken  his  letter  into  consideration,  and  deem- 
ing his  suggestions  important,  or,  in  their  own  language,  "  im- 
proving the  hints  of  Mr.  Cai(i\ve!l,"  would  perhaps  liave  pre- 
pared a  memorial  accordingly;  but  ]\ir.  Avery  being  present, 
promptly  assured  them  that  he  would  endeavor  to  obtain  the  re- 
Jief  they  desired,  "lor  which  he  received  the  thanks  of  Presby- 
tery;" and  there  the  matter  ended.  The  members  of  that  con- 
gress probably  did  not  feel  themselves  at  liberty  to  meddle  with 
this  subject,  as  it  had  not  been  contemplated  in  their  election  ; 
and  their  biisitiess  was  not  only  of  a  diiferent  kind,  but  niquired 
all  their  time  and  attention.  Ah  matters  which  related  to  fun- 
damental and  inalienable  rights  were  properly  referred  to  the 
convention  vv'hicli  was  a})pointed,  or  was  directed  by  this  con- 
gress to  be  appointed,  (or  the  special  purpose  of  forming  a  new 
system  of  government,  adapted  to  the  viev/s  and  circumstances 
of  the  people  ;  and  which  met  at  Ilahfax,  Nov,  12th,  1776.  Dr. 
Caldwell  was  a  member  of  that  convention  as  a  delegate  from  ;1 
Guilford  county,  which  then  included  Randolph  and  Rocking-  | 
liam ;  and  although  very  little  is  known  of  the  debates  which  / 
look  place,  as  the  proceedings  have  never  been  published,  the 
result  is  known  ;  for  with  '•  the  Hill  of  Riglits  and  Constitution  of 
the  State,  which  were  then  formed  and  adopted,"  all  are  no  doubt 
acquainted.  ''That  all  men  have  a  natural  and  unalienable  right 
to  wors'iip  Almighty  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences,"  is  one  article  in  the  bill  of  rights;  and  there  is  no- 
thing in  the  constitution  inconsistent  with  or  variant  from  it,  any 
farther  than  was  suppx>sed  to  be  necessary  for  the  safety  and 
welfare  of  the  country.  It  has  been  said,  though  I  know  not 
on  what  a.nthority,  that  Dr.  Caldwell  drew  up  the  32d  section; 
but  as  the  assertion  is  supported  by  no  evidence,  nothing  need  i 
be  said  here  in  his  justitlcation.  Perhaps  no  apology  would  be  | 
necessary  if  the  authorship  were  certain  ;  for  it  showed  a  vigi- 
jant  concern  for  the  preservation  of  the  protcstant  religion  which 
was  generally  regarded  then  as  the  safeguard  of  our  liberties ; 
and  many  still  doubt  the  propriety  of  altering  tiiat  article,  as 
v/as  done  in  1S35;  but  whether  thi.'  alteration  was  wise  or  not 
lime  ^.v^ll  d-^ternnnc. 


LIFE   OF  UAVID  CAI-UW  K  1,L,  U.JD.  1  S  1 

Tlie  legislalure  of  Great  Britain  having  declared  the  American 
colonies  out  of  their  protection;  and  the  continental  congress 
liaving  declared  them  free  and  independent  states,  it  became  ne- 
cessary that  each  of  the  states  should  form  a  regular  constitution- 
al government,  and  witli  as  little  delay  as  possible  ;  but  the  great 
importance  and  diliicully  of  the  work  in  itself;  and  tjjc  exigen- 
cies and  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  country  at  that  time,  just 
engaging  in  a  war  with  the  most  powerful  nation  in  tlie  world, 
yet  without  either  experience  or  resources  at  all  adequate  to  the 
occasion,  all  the  energy  and  promptness, as  well  as  the  patriotism, 
intelligence,  and  wisdom  that  could  be  furnished,  were  requisite. 
Whatever  prejudices,  personal  animosities,  and  individual  or 
family  rivalships  may  exist  in  ordinary  times,  and  operate  to  the 
injury  of  the  country,  were  then,  as  they  usually  are,  subdued 
by  such  an  emergency;  and  the  respective  counties  appear  to 
have  delegated  those  whom  they  regarded  as  their  most  enlight- 
ened, firm,  and  upright  men  Hence  men  were  sent  by  the 
people  and  permitted  to  act  hi  that  convention  who  were  pre-, 
eluded  by  the  very  constitution  which  they  formed  from  ever 
being  members  of  tlie  senate,  house  of  commons,  or  council  of 
state,  under  that  constitution  ;  and  whatever  may  be  said  in  or- 
dmary  times  against  ministers  of  the  gospel  having  any  thing  to 
do  with  the  legislation  or  politics  of  the  country,  probably  no 
one  will  find  fault  with  their  appointment,  or  with  the  result  of 
their  labors,  on  that  occasion. 

The  country  was  now  involved  in  all  the  hardships  and  perils 
of  war  ;  and  these,  sufficiently  great  at  any  time  or  under  any 
circumstances,  were  more  than  doubled  by  the  fact  that  the  ene- 
mies with  whom  the  war  was  waged  were  domestic  as  well  as 
foreign.  This  part  of  North  CaroUna  was  not  ravaged  or  in- 
vaded by  the  British  until  the  begimiing  of  the  year  1781  ;  but 
it  was  nmch  harassed  by  the  tories,  who  were  very  numerous 
to  the  south  and  south-east.  The  frequent  calls  for  men,  milita- 
ry stores,  or  provisions,  &:c.,  which  had  to  be  furnished  for  the 
army  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  together  with  the  reports  of 
the  successes  or  disasters  which  attended  the  American  arms 
to  the  north,  were  sufficient  of  themselves  to  keep  the  minds  of 
the  people  in  a  state  of  constant  and  hitcnse  excitement;  but  in 


192  I.TFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWEhL,  D.D, 

this  county,  as  in  most  others  in  which  the  whigs  were  sufficiently 
numerous  to  embody  at  all,  the  men,  who  were  not  in  tlie  regu- 
lar service,  were  obliged  to  be  constantly  on  the  alert,  and  half 
of  their  time,  or  more,  from  home,  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing 
the  tories,  or  of  revenging  their  insults  and  depredations.  In 
this  state  of  things,  teaching,  preaching,  and  every  thing  of  the 
kind,  as  well  as  the  uniform  and  wholsome  operations  of  civil 
government,  if  not  entirely  suspended,  were  greatly  interrupted. 
Dr.  Caldwell  did  not  remit  the  exercises  of  his  school  until  about 
the  time  that  the  British  army  came  into  this  region  ;  but  the 
number  of  his  scholars  was  considerably  reduced.  He  contin- 
ued to  preach,  though  the  number  of  his  hearers  was  not  so 
large  ;  and  those  who  did  attend,  often  went  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling, especially  towards  the  latter  part  of  the  war,  or  when  the 
militia  companies  were  out  on  duty;  for  they  were  liable  at  any 
time  to  be  attacked  by  the  tories.  When  the  men  were  at  home 
they  felt  easy  ;  for  the  whigs  in  this  county  were  sufficiently 
numerous  to  repel  and  chastise  any  assault  that  the  tories  could 
make,  and  at  any  period  of  the  war ;  but  when  the  men  were 
away,  if  the  people  went  to  church,  and  were  unmolested  there, 
they  might  find  their  dweUings  plundered  or  in  ruins  when  they 
retitrned.  At  such  times  every  man,  young  and  old,  who  was 
able  to  carry  a  gun,  took  it  with  him  to  church,  as  he  did  wher- 
ever he  went;  but  under  those  circumstances  it  might  be  ex- 
pected that  their  minds  were  not  in  a  state  to  be  benefited  by  the 
services  of  tlie  sanctuary;  and  yet  there  is  evidence  that  pious 
people  maintained  a  high  degree  of  spirituality  and  christian  en- 
joyment. 

Until  the  summer  of  1780,  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  the  on- 
ly class  of  whose  character  and  labors  at  this  period  1  have  any 
knowledge,  seem  to  have  continued  their  efforts  for  the  promo- 
tion of  learning,  as  well  as  for  the  advancement  of  vital  piety, 
without  any  abatement  of  their  zeal  or  any  contraction  in  the 
sphere  of  their  operations.  As  the  population  between  the 
Yadkin  and  Catawba  rivers  was  almost  wholly  Presbyterian, 
except  the  Germans,  the  act  for  incorporating  Queen's  College, 
at  Charlotte,  was  of  course  obtained  through  their  inlluence  ; 
and  the  institution,  if  it  had  gone  into  operation,  would  have 


LIF£  OF  DAVID  CAl.DWELL,  D.I).  1I>-^ 

been  sustained  by  them,  though  it  was  not  chartered  as  a  Pres- 
hyterian  college,  for  they  liad  not  then  felt  themselves  compell- 
ed, as  they  have  done  since,  to   take   that  ground ;  but  if  they 
were  disappointed  in  this  enterprize,  noble  and  generous  as  it 
was,  they  were  not  discouraged.     They  were  not  only  intelli- 
gent as  a  comnuniity,  but  there  were  many  men  among  them 
who  had  been  liberally  educated:  they  knew  and  felt  the  value 
of  education  ;  and  man  might  as  well  attempt  to  lay  his  inter- 
dict upon  the  coming  forth  of  vegetation,  v/lien  the  powers  of 
nature  are  warmed  and  refreshed  by  genial  intluences  from  a- 
bove,  as  to  arrest  the  progress  of  such  a  people  in  knowledge 
and  improvement.     In  April,  1777,  the  first  year  of  American 
independence,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature  of  North  Car- 
olina, incorporating  Isaac  Alexander,  president,  Col.  Thomas 
Polk,  Col.  Thomas  Neal,  Abraham  Alexander,  Waightstil  Avery, 
Adlai  Osborn,  John  McNitt  Alexander,  Doct.  Eplu'aim  Brevard, 
Rev.  David  Caldwell,  Rev.  James  Hall,  Rev.  James  Edmunds, 
Rev.  John  Simpson,   Rev.  Thomas  Reese,  and   Rev.  Thomas 
McCaule,  as  president  and  trustees  of  Liberty  Hall  Academy. 
"These  gentlemen  had  various  powers,  such  as  corporations  of 
this  nature  usually  possess.     The  first  meeting  of  this  respecta- 
ble body  was  held  in  Charlotte,  January  3d,  177S.     Doct.  Isaac 
Alexander,  Doct.  Ephraim  Brevard,  and  Rev.  Thomas  McCaule, 
were  appohited  to  frame  a  system  of  laws  and  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  members  of  the  Academy.— It  was  then 
determined  to  purchase  the  lots  and  improvements  belonging  to 
Col.  Thomas  Polk,  for  which  they  stipulated  to  pay  him  ^6920. 
Commissioners  were  appointed  to  make  an  additional  improve- 
ment, by  building  a  frame  house,  of  conveniem  dimensions,  to 
answer  for  a  common  dining  room  to  the  Academy. — The  salary 
of  the  president  vvras  fixed  at  £195,  occasionally  to  be  increased, 
according  to  the  increasing  price  of  provisions,  which  was  ex- 
tremely fluctuating,  owing  to  the  harassed  state  of  the  country, 
then  experiencing  all  the  calamities  of  a  civil  war,  of  a  most  ma- 
lignant nature,  kept  alive  by  parties  mutually  exasperated  by 
insult  and  injury." 

"The  regulations  respecting  the  steward  and  boarding,  were 
-singularly  excellent;  and  calculated  to  give  general  satisfaction, 
2,5 


iy4  LIFK    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  H.D. 

— In  April,  1778,  the  laws  formed  by  Dr.  Isaac  Alexander,  Dr. 
Ephraim  Brevard,  and  Rev.  Thomas  McCaule,  the  committee 
oliosen  at  the  last  meeting,  were  adopted  without  any  material 
alteration.  The  course  of  studies,  and  the  distinction  of  classes, 
were  nearly  the  same  as  those  pointed  out  by  the  trustees  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  but  more  limited,  and  the  honors 
conferred  were  the  same,  except  that  in-otead  of  degrees  of  Bach- 
elors and  Masters,  the  trustees  liad  oniy  the  right  of  giving  a 
certificate  of  their  studies  and  improvements. — At  this  meeting, 
overtures  were  made  to  Dr.  Alexander  McWhorter,  of  New  Jer-^ 
sey,  to  accept  of  the  presidency;  but  he  could  not  comply  with 
their  request,  owing  to  the  derangement  of  his  afiairs,  from  a 
long  absence  during  the  revolutionary  war,  having  been  appoin- 
ted by  congress  to  preach  up  liberty  and  independence  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  southern  States.  ]\Ir.  Robert  Brownfield  was 
tlien  appointed  to  ti;e  othce,and  he  agreed  to  accept  for  one  year, 
as  Doct,  Alexander  had  thought  proper  to  resign.  Several  gentle- 
men ofgreat  literary  talents  were  successively  invited  witiiout  suc- 
cess.— Doct.  Ephraim  Brevard, and  the  Rev.  Samuel  E.  McCorkle 
were  then  sent  to  New  Jersey  wuh  a  second  invitation  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Whorter, with  instraclions,  if  he  should  think  proper  again  to 
decline,  to  solicit  the  advice  of  Dr.  Witherspoon  and  Mi".  Hous- 
ton, of  Princeton,  in  the  choice  of  some  ot]ier  gentleman  of  em- 
inence in  the  republic  of  letters. — Dr.  McWhorter,  after  settling 
his  alfairs,  removed  to  Charlotte;  and  was  about  to  take  charge 
of  Liberty  Hall,  when  the  whole  business  relating  to  it  was  sus- 
pended, never  to  be  resumed.  This  look  place  about  the  lath 
of  February,  1780."  The  charter  of  this  academy  I  have  seen 
in  Davis'  Revisal ;  and  the  above  account  of  it,  so  far  as  it  is 
distinguished  by  quotation  marks,  is  taken  from  a  communica- 
tion in  tlie  manuscript  volume,  so  often  mentioned  already,  m 
the  University  library.  The  communication  was  written  33 
years  ago,  by  Adlai  Osborn,  the  same,  I  suppose,  who  is  men- 
tioned in  the  charter  as  a  trustee;  and  if  so,  as  he  wrote  from 
personal  knowledge^  it  is  no  doubt  correct. 

The  history  of  Liberty  Hall  Academy  is  interesting  to  the 
iViends  of  literature  as  a  bold  and  vigorous  effort  made  for  its  pro- 
motion at  that  oarlv  day,  and  under  the  most  discoiu"aging  cir- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWEl,!,,  D.D.  19' 

cuinstaiic.es ;  and  it  is  especially  interesting  to  Presbyterians  as 
being  one  in  a  .ytv/e*  of  etlbrts  made  by  tlie  people  in  tiiat  region 
to  establish  a  literary  institution,  not  only  of  a  high  order,  but 
on  christian  principles,  and  under  christian  influence.  Both  be- 
fore and  after  its  incorporation,  the  Presbytery  of  Orange  exer- 
cised a  degree  of  supervision  over  Liberty  Hall,  as  they  proba- 
bly would  have  done  over  Queen's  College,  if  it  had  gone  into 
operation  ;  but  precisely  on  what  grounds  and  to  what  extent 
does  not  appear.  For  tliis  purpose  the  Presbytery  met,  during 
its  existence,  much  oftener  in  Charlotte  and  Sugar  Creek,  than 
in  any  other  part  of  their  bounds :  they  appointed  committees 
to  examine  the  students  ;  and  they  co-operated  with  the  trus- 
tees in  procuring  tlie  services  of  Dr.  McWhorter.  They  some- 
times held  part  of  their  sessions  in  one  of  these  places,  and  the 
remainder  in  the  other.  Thus,  having  met  in  Charlotte,  October 
1st,  1776,  they  adjourned  in  the  evening  to  Sugar  Creek,  where 
they  transacted  the  rest  of  their  bu^-;iness•,  and  among  other 
things  they  appointed  ''' Messrs.  Caldwell  and  Reese  to  examine 
the  school  in  Charlotte."  Again,  "  Fourth  Creek,  April  10th, 
1778,  Messrs.  McCorkle,  Hall,  and  McCaule,  are  hereby  ap- 
pointed 10  write  a  letter  to  Dr.  McWhorter,  concerning  the  acad- 
emy in  Charlotte."  It  appears  to  have  been  an  object  of  their 
constant  and  anxious  solicitude  ;  and  their  whole  influence  was 
exerted  for  its  promotion  ;  nor  was  its  failure  owing  to  any  neg- 
lect or  want  of  zeal  on  their  part ;  but  to  causes  which  were  be- 
yond their  control ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  effort  wiiich 
the  people  in  the  same  region  are  now  making,  the  noblest  and 
best  that  they  have  ever  made,  will  succeed  to  the  full  extent  of 
their  wishes.  It  is  presumed  that  facts  like  these,  which  are  very 
interesting  in  themselves,  and  yet  known  to  very  few,  will  not 
be  deemed  out  of  place  in  a  work  of  this  kind;  nor  can  the  wri- 
ter be  accused  of  undue  partiality  by  the  world,  or  charged  by 
his  friends  with  a  needless  repetition  of  what  is  sufficiently 
known  already,  in  saying  so  much  about  the  church  to  which 
he  belongs,  or  about  its  early  efforts  in  the  cause  of  education, 
liberty,  and  bible  religion,  especially  as  some  of  the  things  here 
related  arc  not  generally  known  even  to  the  ministers  of  that 
church. 


l&(j  LIFE  OF  I>AVil)  CAI-DWF.LL,  D.D. 

Ill  1774,  t!ie  Presbytery  of  Orange,  wliich  then  appears  to 
have  included  South  CaroUna,  though  it  did  not  when  first  or- 
ganized, had  twelve  ordained  ministers,  all  of  whom,  except 
two  or  three,  were  in  North  Carolina,  and  the  number  was  in- 
creased more,  during  the  first  half  of  the  war,  in  proportion  to 
the  whole  population,  and  to  tlie  instrumentaUties  and  means 
employed,  than  it  has  ever  been  since,  in  the  same  length  of 
lime.  Thomas  H.  McCaule,  who  had  been  hceiiscd  in  the  fall 
of  1775,  was  ordained  and  settled  as  pastor  of  Centre  Church, 
April  4th,  1777.  James  Hall  was  licensed  at  Sugar  Creek,  April 
6th,  1776;  and,  on  the  «th  of  April,  1778,  was  ordained  and 
settled  as  pastor  of  the  three  united  congregations  of  Fourth 
Creek,  now  Fourth  Creek,  Bethany  and  Concord.  Samuel  E. 
McCorkle  was  received  as  a  licentiate  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Hanover,  Oct.  1st,  1776  ;  and  was  ordained  and  settled  as  pas- 
tor of  Thyatira  church,  April  2nd,  1777.  They  intended  to  or- 
dain him  soon  after  he  was  received,  as  the  congregation  had 
sent  their  call  for  his  services  to  the  Hanover  Presbytery,  and 
the  arrangements  were  all  made  on  their  part ;  but,  owing  to 
some  circumstances  which  rendered  it  inconvenient  for  the  Pres- 
bytery to  attend  to  it,  his  ordination  was  deferred  until  the  next 
spring.  Thomas  Kill,  a  foreign  licentiate,  was  received  at  Char- 
lotte, Oct.  2nd,  1776  ;  and  was  ordained  and  settled  at  Indian 
Town,  June  11th,  1777.  John  Cossan  was  received  as  a  licen- 
tiate at  the  same  time  with  Mr.  Hill ;  and  was  ordained  as  an 
Evangelist  at  Salem  church,  in  December,  177S.  When  the 
Presbytery  met  at  North  Buffalo  church,  June  3rd,  1777,  the 
Rev.  John  Debow,  who  had  been  pastor  of  Oxford  and  Mount 
Bethel  churches  in  New  Jersey,  and  had  come  to  North  Caroli- 
na as  a  missionary  in  the  fall  of  1775,  was  received  on  his  dis- 
mission from  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  ;  and  was  sta- 
tioned, for  several  years,  though  not  formally  installed,  in  the 
churches  of  Eno  and  Hawfields.  Robert  Archibald,  who  had 
been  licensed  in  the  fall  of  1775,  was  ordained  and  settled  as 
pastor  of  Poplar  Tent  and  Rocky  River  churches  on  the  7lh  of 
October,  1778.  At  the  meeting  held  in  Fourth  Creek  church, 
April  7th,  1778,  Andrew  Patton,  a  native  of  Ireland,  was  re- 
ceived as  an  ordained  mmister  belonging  to  the  Associate  Pres- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  197 

bytery  of  Pennsylvania  ;  but  altliougli  he  was  a  popular  speak- 
er, and  prepossessing  in  his  manners,  it  is  believed  that  he  never 
settled  as  the  pastor  of  any  of  our  churches.  At  Little  River, 
Nov.  25th,  1777,  James  Fraser  was  received  as  a  licentiate  from 
the  Presbytery  of  Falkirk  in  Scotland  ;  and  was  stationed  for 
some  time,  though  not  installed,  in  Little  River  church.  At 
Little  River,  Sept.  2nd,  1778,  James  Templcton  was  received  as 
a  licentiate  from  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover ;  and  at  the  same 
meeting  it  appeared  that  calls  had  been  presented  to  the  Hano- 
ver Presbytery  from  Pleasant  Garden,  Reedy  Branch,  and  Qua- 
ker Meadows,  in  Burke  county,  for  his  pastoral  services.  At 
Fourth  Creek,  April  11th,  1778,  they  licensed  Thomas  Donnell, 
James  McCree,  Thomas  Craighead,  and  David  Barr;  and 
Thatcher,  Lake,  and  others,  soon  after;  so  that,  in  1780,  they 
had  eighteen  ordained  ministers  and  five  licentiates.* 

During  this  time  they  lost  two  by  death — Mr.  Balch,  in  tlie 
beginning  of  1776;  and  Mr.  Criswell,  in  the  fall  of  1778.  Al- 
though the  Presbytery  appears  to  have  been  exceedingly  care- 
ful about  bringing  men  into  the  ministry ,t  and  about  receiving 
them  when  brought  into  it  any  where  else,  either  by  other  de- 
nominations, or  by  Presbytcnesln  lEeiv  own  connexion,  one  or 
two  unworthy  men  got  into  their  body  ;  but  they  were  from  a 
distance.  The  Rev.  Alexander  McMilien,  who  had  been  for 
some  time  preachnig  in  Hillsborough,  New  Hope,  and  Little 
River,  though  not  settled  in  any  of  these  places,  was  silenced 

^^■RecorJs  of  tlie  Presbyterian  Churcli,  p.  486. 

IThf  Presbytery  hardly  over  ordained  a  man  without  permission  of  Synod, 
unle^•s  he  were  invited  to  take  charoe  of  some  regular  church;  and  when 
tlipy  concluded,  after  much  deliberation,  in  1778,  to  ordain  John  Cossan  with- 
out a  charq-e,  they  mide  the  tbllowins- minute.  "Finding'  that  Mr.  Cossan 
lifis  no  inclination  at  pioteut,  tor  takinjra  particular  charge  in  our  vacancies, 
and  signifies  a  desire  tor  ordin.ition,  assured  that  in  this  capacity  he  would  be 
more  extensively  useful  in  the  churches,  tlie  Presbytery  have  so  far  presumed 
■upon  the  consent  of  Sijnod,  as  to  venture  to  ordain  .Mr.  Cossan  sine  iUuto. — ■ 
Many  things  seeiii  to  concur  in  urging  the  Presbytery  to  this  measure: 
amonw  which  are — the  great  distance  from  Synod  ;  the  uncertainty  of  con- 
veyance, and  of  the  times  and  places  of  Synodicai  meeting,  are  none  of  the 
smallest:  but  the  wide  extent  of  our  bounds,  and  the  importunate  cries  of  the 
churches  for  ordained  mini.-ters,  press  themselves  upon  our  minds  with  pecu- 
liar force,  and  mduce  us  to  take  this  uncommon  step,  which,  however,  we 
mean  not  to  repeat,  except  in  a  case  equally  urgent  with  the  present,  or  in 
conseeucnce  of  a  special  grant  from  Svnod." 


/ 


198  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

for  habitual  intoxication  and  other  acts  of  immorality.  He  had 
been  for  some  two  or  three  years  a  member  of  the  Orange  Pres- 
bytery ;  but  he  had  been  both  Hcensed  and  ordained  elsewhere. 
After  obtaining  full  proof  of  Ins  gnilt  and  of  his  utter  disregard 
of  principle  and  of  character,  he  was  deposed,  Sept.  3rd,  1778  ; 
and  the  churches  were  warned  against  receiving  him  as  a  min- 
is:er  of  the  gospel,  or  giving  him  any  kind  of  encouragement. 
Eat  the  number  of  minislers  increased  regularly  through  the 
Avhole  i^eriod  of  the  war  ;  and  while  their  best  ministers  Avere 
from  t'leir  own  chnrclics.  it  is  not  known  that  one  of  them  ever 
proved  unscmd,  or  acted  inconsistently,  either  with  his  profes- 
sion as  a  christian,  or  with  his  vocation  as  a  minister  of  tlie  gos- 
pel. There  was  perhaps  one  exception  which  will  be  noticed 
in  another  place;  but  it  occurred  or  became  known  long  after 
the  period  of  which  we  are  now  speaking. 

The  influx  of  Presbyterians  into  this  State,  for  a  number  of 
years  before  the  war,  had  been  so  great,  that  they  could  not  he 
supplied  with  the  ministrations  of  the  gospel.  Th.e  discovery  of 
America,  and  the  intolerance  and  persecutions  of  the  old  world, 
seemed  to  put  all  Christendom  in  motion ;  and  while  tens  of 
tliousands  were  driven  across  the  Atlantic,  hut  few  came  along 
who  could  break  to  them  the  bread  of  life.  Ministers  have  never 
since  kept  up  Vv'ith  the  tide  of  emigration  ;  and  in  North  Caroli- 
na, during  the  period  under  consideration,  there  was  a  christian 
community  spread  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  but 
almost  witliont  ministers.  Tiiere  were  only  ahont  a  dozen  or 
fifteen  to  traverse  the  State  from  north  to  south,  and  from  east  to 
west,  or  the  people  must  be  left  without  religious  instruction,  and 
without  cin'istian  ordinances.  As  soon  as  a  young  man  was 
licensed,  tliere  were  commonly  half  a  dozen  calls,  more  or  less, 
immediately  ])resented  for  his  pastoral  services ;  and  the  applicar 
tions  made  at  every  meeting  of  Presb^ytery  for  supplies,  from 
vacant  congregations,  and  Presbyterian  settlements  in  which 
there  was  no  church  organization,  though  desired,  were  at  least 
three  or  lour  times  as  many  as  there  were  preachers.  Some  of 
these  applications  were  from  the  counties  in  Virginia  adjoining 
this  State;  and  others  from  the  coves  and  valliesin  the  mountains, 
where  it  would  hardly  bo  sujiposed  that  there  was  any  body 


LIFE   OF  DAVID  0 AhDWF.Lh,  U.D.  1.9!) 

then  living  avIio  knew  wIkU  the  gospel  meruit.  'I'here  were  also 
applications  for  chaplains  to  the  army;  and  at  almost  every 
meeting  there  were  new  churches  or  settlements  petitioning  to 
be  taken  under  the  care  of  Presbytery.  Many  of  these  are  now 
forgotten  ;  and  are  either  lying  waste,  or  are  occupied  by  other 
denominations.*  Then  they  felt  the  need  of  preaching,  and  the 
Orange  Presbytery  was  almost  their  only  dependence  ;  but  the 
ministers  of  that  age  were  laborious  men;  and  they  performed 
an  amount  of  labor  which  their  successors  at  the  present  day 
iove  to  admire,  but  cannot  or  do  not  imitate. 

The  ministers  composing  the  Presbytery  of  Orange  at  this 
time  appear  to  have  been  of  one  heart  and  of  one  mmd  in  rela- 
tion to  all  the  important  subjects  which  occupied  their  attention  ; 
nor  did  any  thing  come  before  thcn.i,  so  far  as  the  writer  lias 
been  able  to  ascertain,  on  which  there  was  any  division  of  sen- 
timent or  any  warmth  of  discussion,  except  a  case  of  discipline 
brought  up  from  one  of  the  churches ;  and  as  that  was  a  small 
matter  which  soon  passed  awiiy,  leaving  no  root  of  bitterjiess, 
and  causing  no  dimmutiou  of  fraternal  regard,  it  would  not  be 
noticed  here,  but  for  tlie  part  taken  in  it  by  the  subject  of  this 

*Tlie  fullowing  list  ofapplications  from  chiirciics  and  ?ctt]ctnciits  for  sup- 
plies, at  each  ol' the  stated  niceting-s  oi  Presbytery  in  1778,  will  probably  be 
interestinff,  at  least  to  our  ministers.  Tliese  places  were  nearly  al!  under 
the  care  of  Presbytery,  tlicugh  tlicy  did  not  all  have  organized  churches;  and 
they  were  all  supplied  except  peihapsoneor  two.  Al  each  meeting  of  Pres- 
bytery, tlse  minihters  were  all  appointed  lo  supply  a  nun'ber  of  Sabbaths — 
many  of  them  six,  and  none  of  ihcm  less  fhiU)  four;  but  often  their  appoint- 
ments were  a  hundred  ujiles  or  more  from  home.  They  were  ocrierally  ful- 
filled iiowever ;  and  this  appears  to  ha'^-e  been  a  regular  thing  Irom  year  to 
year  ;  lor  as  seme  were  su[)plicd  with  pastors,  new  applicatifins  were  contin- 
ually inade  : — Fair  Forest,  Nazareth,  Hopewell,  Sleel  Creek,  VVrigiitsborough, 
Great  Kicca,  Providence,  Salisbury,  Crystal  Spring,  VVaxhaws,  Beaver  Creek, 
Jiethel,  Poplar  Tent,  and  Rocky  River,  in  the  spring;  Bethesda,  Catholic, 
Goshen,  Union,  Little  Biitain,  Sugar  Creek,  nitchccck,  Little  River,  New 
Hope,  Yrid kin  Valley,  Coddle  Creek,  Quaker  Meadows,  Davidson's  Fort,  Min- 
eral Spring,  New  Erection,  Lower  Dan,  i.ower  liico,  Jersey  Settlement,  Deep 
River,  Ufiper  Kaw  River,  Mountain  IMeeting  House,  Stankin's  Quarter,  Lono 
Island,  Cartiedge  f>reek.  New  I'rovideiicer  L'uncan's  Creek.  Indian  Creek, 
Charlotte,  Cedar  Sprirg,  .lackson's  Creek,  Upper  IJiinting  Creek,  I  ower  do., 
Chesnut  Spring,  Williamsburg,  Cape  Fear,  Upper  Union,  Valley  Settlement, 
Nolnchuckv,  Country  Line,  Kuiney  Crock,  Uuityi,  Upper  11  ico.  Wake  County, 
Fork  of  Yadkin,  Long  Creek,  Mountain  Creek,  Beersheba,  Calvary,  Colonel 
.lack's  Batuliion,  Allen's  Creek,  Good's  arid  Avery's  in  Viruinia,  Sandy  River 
in  IMtlsylvania,  Pucolet,  Broad  R;ver,  Muiiitb:d's  Cove,  Fithing  Creek,  Mud- 
dv  Creek. 


:iO0  I.IFK  OF  DAVID  CAl.D\Vi:j.L,  i).I) 

memoir.  At  an  intermediate  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  held  at 
North  BiilFalo,  June  3d,  1777,  for  the  pm-pose  of  setthng  a  ditii- 
culty  in  that  church, a  man  who  !rad  been  suspended  from  church 
privileges  by  the  Session  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged," 
brought  his  case  before  the  Presbytery  ;  and  as  the  crime  charged 
upon  him  was  one  which  admitted  of  no  positive  testimony,  the 
Presbytery  administered  to  him  "the  oath  of  purgation."  It 
was  first  put  to  vote  whether  the  session  had  suiiicient  evidence 
to  judge  hiai  guilty  of  the  crime  with  which  he  was  charged, 
which  was  decided  in  the  negative;  but  Dr.  Caldwell  dissented. 
The  vote  was  then  taken  whether  they  should  propose  to  liim 
"the  oath  of  purgation  ;"  and  after  much  discussion  it  was  deci- 
ded in  the  aliirmative ;  but  Dr.  Caldwell  again  dissented  ;  and 
entered  the  reasons  of  his  dissent  on  the  records.  Some  of  these 
reasons  were,  of  course,  peculiar  to  that  case;  but  those  which 
related  to  the  abstract  principle  would  be  good  any  where.  He 
stood  alone  in  this  matter ;  and  the  course  he  took  shews  at  once 
his  firmness,  and  the  correctness  of  his  judgment.  It  is  behevtd 
that  this  was  the  only  instance  in  which  that  oath  was  ever  ad- 
ministered by  the  Orange  Presbytery  ;  and  if  it  .has  ever  been 
admi!)istered  by  any  of  our  church  sessions,  the  cases  have  been 
few  and  far  between.  In  the  case  above  referred  to,  it  should 
be  remarked  that  the  person  accused  requested  that  they  would 
permit  him  to  take  the  oath ;  but  while  much  may  be  said  in  its 
favor,  and  while  the  object  proposed  to  be  accomplished  by  it  is 
certainly  good,  it  furnishes  such  a  strong  temptation  to  perjury, 
and  is  so  liable  to  be  abused,  that  it  can  seldom,  if  ever,  be  justi- 
fiable or  expedient. 

From  the  sunnner  of  17S0  to  the  close  of  the  war,  every  thing 
in  North  Carolina  was  in  confusion  ;  ibr  when  the  country  was 
invaded  and  ravaged  by  the  Biitish  army,  it  was  harassed  and 
plundered  in  a  cruel  and  reckless  manner  by  the  tories,  who 
were  emboldened  by  the  presence  or  proximity  of  an  army 
whose  progress  for  a  time  seemea  to  be  irresistable.  In  this 
state  of  things,  the  Presbyterian  ministers  were  not  only  inter- 
rupted in  tlieir  work  and  lai)or  of  love,  and  suffered,  in  common 
with  others,  the  loss  of  their  properly  to  a  greater  or  less  extent ; 
*Janios  B:ilc!i,  a  member  of  Roc  vy  River  cJmrcIi. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D.  201 

but  were  subjected  to  personal  hardsliips  and  perils,  in  various 
ways.  Tbeir  intelligence,  pict)'  and  consistency  of  duporttnent, 
as  ministers  of  the  gospel,  were  such  as  to  connuand  the  respect 
of  all  who  had  any  regard  for  religion,  or  were  capable  of  appre- 
ciating moral  worth  ;  but  a  large  portion  of  the  torics  were  not 
of  this  description  5  and  then  the  influence  which  these  nnnisters 
had  exerted  inflivor  of  Independence  had  made  them  really  and 
in  a  liigh  degree  obnoxious  to  trie  British.  Tiiey  were  men  who 
could  not  fail  to  exert  an  extensive  influence  any  where  or  at 
any  time  ;  for  while  many  of  them  weice  young  men,  just  enter- 
ed on  the  public  stage  of  aciiou  and  not  more  than  two  or  three 
of  them  were  in  the  decline  of  life,  they  were  all  men  of  classical 
education,  and  a  majority  of  ihem  were  graduates  of  Princeton, 
or  some  other  college.  Dr.  McWhorter,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
employed  and  sent  out  from  the  north  to  aid  the  cause  of  Inde- 
pendence in  the  south.  He  was  a  man  of  literature  and  science, 
a  sound  divine,  an  able  preaciier,  and  a  laborious  servant  in  the 
cause  of  his  master,  as  well  as  an  ardent  frieiid  to  the  rights  of 
mankind.  McCaule  was  eloquent  and  accomplished,  true  to  the 
church,  and  true  to  his  country.  Hall  was  talented,  brave,  and 
patriotic;  a  firm  defender  of  the  truth  in  all  its  bearings;  and 
hod  all  his  powers  and  acquisitions  employed  for  the  honor  of 
God,  and  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  men.  McCorkle  was  a  man 
of  extensive  learning,  and  a  profound  thinker;  a  philosopher 
and  a  christian;  and  one  who  stood  firm  in  support  of  Bible 
doctrine,  tlie  rights  of  conscience,  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge. 
Caldwell  was  not  only  a  fine  classical  scholar,  and  a  man  of 
very  general  hiformation,  but  was  remarkably  judicious,  vigilant, 
firm  and  uncompromising  in  defence  of  whatever  he  regarded 
as  important  to  tlie  present  or  the  future  welfare  of  mankind  ; 
and  wherever  lie  was  known,  he  received  as  he  deserved  the 
confidence  of  all  who  were  engaged  in  the  same  cause.  Similar 
remarks  luigiit  be  made  respeciing  most  of  the  others  who,  dur- 
ing this  great  crisis  in  the  destiny  of  unnumbered  millions,  were 
associated  with  them  m  tlie  service  of  God  and  their  country ; 
but  as  my  knowledge  of  their  character  is  more  limited,  the  task 
of  perpetuating  their  memory  must  be  left  to  others.  A  passing 
notice  however  of  those  who  were  most  distinguisiied  cannot  be 
26 


202  LTFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

regarded  as  either  uncalled  for  or  out  of  place  ;  for  if  the  Apos- 
tle admonished  the  churches  of  his  time  to  remember  those  who 
had  spoken  to  them  the  word  of  life,  or  who  had  been  instru- 
mental in  delivering  them  from  their  bondage  to  shi  and  Satan, 
the  people  of  this  country  might  be  admonished,  in  the  same 
spirit,  to  remember  those  who,  with  the  divine  blessing,  achiev- 
ed their  independence,  planted  their  churches,  founded  their  in- 
stitutions of  learning,  and  bequeathed  to  all  who  might  come 
after  them,  the  inheritance  of  their  intelligence,  their  patriotism, 
and  their  piety.  These  are  the  men,  whatever  might  have  been 
their  station — whether  employed  in  the  cabinet  or  in  the  field, 
in  the  senate  or  in  the  pulpit — whose  names  should  live  while 
our  liberties  and  our  institutions  of  learning  and  rehgion  endure; 
for  their  history  is  in  fact  the  history  of  the  country  and  of  the 
church ;  and  while  we  love  and  value  the  one  we  shall  remem- 
ber and  venerate  the  other. 

In  proportion  as  a  man  is  efficient  or  ronspicious  in  any  cause 
lie  becomes  obnoxious  to  those  who  are  opposed  to  it ;  and  on 
this  principle,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  his  weight  of 
character,  as  well  as  from  the  active  part  wliich  he  had  all  along 
taken  in  the  cause  of  independence,  Dr.  Caldwell  was  regarded 
by  the  enemy  with  no  friendly  feelings  ;  but  for  a  similar  reason, 
his  house  became  a  place  of  resort  for  his  brethren  of  the  cleri- 
cal profession,  and  for  his  friends  of  every  description,  far  and 
near,  especially  when  tiiey  found  it  necessary  to  seek  a  place  of 
greater  safety,  or  wished  to  confer  with  him  on  any  subject  of 
difficulty  and  importance.  When  the  British  took  Charleston 
and  overrun  South  Carolina,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  17S0,  most 
of  the  whlgs  in  that  State  fled  into  North  Carolina  and  Virginia; 
and  those  who  had  friends  or  acquaintances  in  either  of  these 
States,  naturally  sought  refuge  with  them.  On  tliis  occasion  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Edmunds  of  Charleston,  being  an  old  acquaintance 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  came  to  his  house,  and 
made  it  his  home,  until  lie  and  his  people  could  return  with  safety 
^ome  of  his  brethren,  who  lived  between  the  Yadkin  and  Ca- 
tawba rivers,  when  the  British  came  to  Charlotte,  also  sought 
refuge  in  his  house,  and  remained  with  him  or  in  his  congrega- 
tions until  the  unemy  Avere  driven  back  into  South  Carolina. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  203 

Two  of  his  brotiicrs-in-law,  Mr.  Crawford  and  Mr.  Uanlap,  who 
had  married  sisters  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  and  who  lived  in  some  of 
the  upper  districts  of  tiiai  State,  came  and  brought  their  families 
with  tiiem.  They  rented  a  liouse  on  a  small  farm  m  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  kept  them  there  for  eighteen  months,  more  or  less ; 
or  until  the  British  were  driven  out  of  South  Carohna;in  the  fall 
of  17«1.  Their  wagons  and  teams  were  employed  most  of  the 
time  in  the  American  service ;  and  they  were  themselves  much 
of  the  time  with  the  army.  Perhaps  no  minister  of  the  gospel  in 
North  Carolina,  or  none  of  the  Presbyterian  order,  was  more 
harassed  and  plundered  by  the  tories,  or  endured  greater  hard- 
ships and  run  more  risks  of  being  killed  or  taken  prisoner,  than 
Dr.  Caldwell ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  from  the  time 
that  the  British  army  penetrated  into  this  State  after  the  battle  at 
the  Cowpens  until  after  the  battle  at  Guilford  courthouse,  a  va- 
riety of  incidents  occurred,  some  of  which  were  amusing,  and 
otliers  calculated  to  awaken  feelings  of  sympathy  and  gratitude, 
but  all  of  them  deeply  interesting.  The  precise  date  of  their  oc- 
currence is  not  known,  because  they  depend  on  the  recollections 
of  his  family  and  other  aged  people  in  the  neighborhood,  or  have 
been  communicated  from  memory  by  some  of  his  old  pupils  who 
hve  at  a  distance ;  but  of  the  facts  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt. 

The  histories  of  that  period  contain  many  and  loud  complaints 
against  the  whigs  of  the  southern  Siates  for  refushig  to  give  up 
their  saddle  horses  to  the  service  of  the  country,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  army  was  subjected  to  great  inconvenience,  and  the 
cavalry  especially,  rendered  much  less  etiicient  than  otherwise  it 
would  have  been.  This  induced  a  necessity  of  impressing  hoivses 
of  that  description  for  the  use  of  the  cavalry,  as  well  as  wagons 
and  teams  for  other  purposes ;  and  it  is  said  that  sometimes  men 
who  were  conJiected,or  who  pretended  to  be  connected  with  the 
army,  took  the  liberty  of  impressing  the  best  horses  they  could 
find,  under  the  plea  that  they  were  wanted  for  the  service  of  the 
country,  but  could  shew  no  authority  for  what  they  did.  An  in^ 
cident  of  this  kind  occurred  with  Dr.  Caldwell,  which  is  wor^i 
relating,  as  it  furnishes  some  illustration  of  his  character,  and  of 
the  state  of  things  then  in  the  country  ;  or  if  the  persons  concern- 
ed had  any  authority  for  taking  his  property,  as  they  probably 


204  LIFE    OF  1>AVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

liad,  they  did  not  shew  it  at  the  time,  and  acted  as  if  they  had 
none. 

lie  had  a  fine  blooded  mare,  which  he  called  his  English  mare, 
and  w.hich  was  kt;own  all  over  the  country  by  tiuit  name.  As 
he  was  returning  home  one  evening  on  his  favorite  animal,  he 
was  met  at  the  end  of  his  lane  by  two  or  three  men  who  were 
perfect  strangers  to  him ;  but  one  of  them  immediately  told  him 
that  he  must  have  his  mare  for  the  use  of  the  American  army. 
As  this  was  about  the  time  when  Greene  and  Morgan  were  re- 
treating before  Cornwallis  into  Virginia,  and  when  every  possi- 
ble effort  was  makmg  to  recruit  the  army,  he  supposed  that  this 
man  had  been  sent  out  by  Greene  for  the  purpose  of  impressing 
suitable  liorses  wherever  he  could  find  them,  and  niildLy  asked 
him  for  his  authority;  but  the  man  drew  liis  sword,  and.  brand- 
ishing that  about,  rudely  told  him,  that  was  his  authority.  The 
mare  being  a  favorite,  and  the  one  on  which  he  always  rode, 
money  could  hardly  have  bought  her ;  but  as  he  could  not  help 
/  himself,  he  quietly  gave  her  up  ;  and  the  man,  vaulting  into  the 
/  saddle,  rode  away,  without  making  him  any  remuneration,  or 
i  giving  him  any  thing  by  which  he  might  expect  ultimately  to 
/  obtain  compensation  ; — leaving,  however,  the  very  indilferent 
animal  on  which  he  had  been  riding,  now  become  unfit  for  ser- 
vice, and  the  accontrements,  which  were  in  a  similar  condition. 
Next  morning,  having  learned  that  the  men  were  at  Martinville, 
he  followed  them  to  that  place,  with  the  hope  of  beii/g  able  ei- 
ther to  get  his  mare  back,  or  to  obtain  some  assurance  of  iiidem- 
nity  at  a  future  time  ;  but  instead  of  obtaining  either,  they  took 
from  him  the  horse  on  which  he  then  rode — the  one  they  had 
left — and  gave  him  no  compensation  for  that  one,  except  another 
which  was  little  more  than  a  skeleton,  so  broken  down  that  it 
was  hardly  able  to  carry  him  home,  and  with  a  back  so  sore 
that  it  was  almost  putrescent,  while  the  saddle  was  not  sufficient 
to  prevent  him  entirely  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  horse's 
back. 

It  is  said  that  he  was  nearer  being  in  a  bad  humor  that  diy 
than  he  was  e\'er  known  to  be  before  or  after;  but  he  kept  the 
command  of  his  temper ;  and  fortune  seemed  to  turn  in  his  favor, 
thougii  it  was  only  for  a  short  time.     In  the  evening  one  of  his 


LIFE  OF  DAVH)  CALDWELL,  D.I).  205 

neighbors  came  and  told  him  that  his  mare  was  in  McCuistin's 
stable,  not  half  a  mile  off;  as  the  spoilers  had  taken  up  there  for 
the  night.  He  immediately  laid  his  plan  for  getting  her  back; 
and  as  she  had  been  taken  from  him  without  any  plea  of  legal 
authority,  or  any  evidence  that  the  act  was  not  downright  rob- 
bery, he  thought  himself  justifiable  in  adopting  any  method  for 
her  recovery  that  would  injure  no  body  else.  Prompt,  as  he 
was,  on  every  emergency,  and  never  at  a  lossfor  expedients,  he 
was  not  long  on  this  occasion  in  devising  his  plan  or  in  carrying 
it  into  effect.  He  had  a  negro  servant  by  the  name  of  Tom,  a 
native  African,  who  was  remarkable  for  the  darkness  of  his 
complexion,  being  the  blackest  negro  in  all  the  country;  and 
also  for  his  dexterity  at  thieving,  for  he  was  considered  the  most 
expert  thief  any  where  known.  Calhng  up  Tom,  therefore,  a- 
bout  dark,  he  told  him  that'  if  he  would  contrive  to  get  his  mare 
away  from  McCuistiti's  that  night  without  its  being  known,  and 
wonld  conceal  her  in  the  woods  so  that  he  could  get  her  again, 
he  would  give  him  a  handsome  reward,  which  he  specified;  and 
Tom,  delighted  with  the  idea  of  getting  so  much  money,  as  well 
as  at  having  an  opportunity  for  gratifying  his  furtive  disposition, 
Scdd  at  once,  like  one  of  our  heroes  in  the  last  war,  Pll  try,  sir. 
Accordingly  he  went  over  about  mididght,  with  a  bridle  in  his 
hcind;  and  as  the  night  was  cloudy  and  exceedingly  dark,  he 
stript  himself  entirely  naked,  the  better  to  avoid  discovery  if  any 
thing  should  occur  to  give  the  alarm.  Then  he  succeeded  hi 
getting  her  out  of  the  stable  while  the  men  were  asleep  in  the 
hay  above,  and  made  his  escape.  With  this  exploit  he  was  as 
much  gratified  as  ever  Bonaparte  was  with  any  of  his  victories; 
for  he  not  only  took  a  pleasure  in  thieving,  but  felt  a  pride  in 
having  it  known  how  successful  he  was  in  the  business,  or  in 
being  considered  the  best  thief  in  all  the  country. 

Anticipating  the  course  which  the  men  would  take,  Dr.  Cald- 
well, to  be  prepared  for  it,  sent  by  daylight  fur  his  two  brothers- 
in-law,  Crawford  and  Dunlap,  to  come  over  without  delay  and 
bring  their  guns  with  them,  which  they  did  ;  and  having  two  or 
three  of  his  clerical  friends  there  at  the  time,  such  as  McCorkle, 
Hall,  and  Thatcher,  he  felt  pretty  safe.  About  sun  rise,  accord- 
mg  to  his  expectation,  he  saw  two  of  them  coming  towards  the 


206  LIVE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

house ;  and  having  met  them  at  the  door,  while  liis  friends  re- 
mained in  an  adjoining  room,  out  of  view,  the  one  who  had  ta- 
ken the  mare,  as  it  was  supposed,  for  his  own  use,  and  who,  of 
course,  felt  much  spited  at  the  trick  wich  had  been  played,  ac- 
costed him  with  some  degree  of  sternness,  and  asked  Jiim  if  he 
could  tell  him  where  the  mare  was.  He  replied  that  he  could 
not ;  for  he  had  not  seen  her, — which  was  literally  true  :  ue 
had  not  seen  her,  nor  had  he  ascertained  where  she  was  con- 
cealed. The  mihtary  hero  then  made  some  remarks  which  im- 
plied a  charge  of  prevarication  ;  but  the  Doctor  told  him  that  he 
had  never  before  been  accused  of  any  such  thing,  or  treated  with 
so  much  rudeness  ;  and  intimated  that  he  would  not  bear  it,  es- 
pecially in  his  own  house.  With  that  the  other  began  to  bluster 
and  utter  some  heavy  threats,  when  Dr.  McCorkle  came  out  of 
the  room,  where  he  had  heard  all  that  passed,  and  stepping  up 
to  the  door,  observed  to  him,  in  a  very  grave  and  positive  tone, 
tliat  he  had  better  be  civil ;  for  if  he  conducted  like  a  gentleman 
he  should  be  treated  as  a  gentleman  ;  but  if  he  continued  to  act 
in  that  manner  they  would  tie  him  and  send  him  off  to  General 
Green's  camp  with  an  account  of  his  conduct — assuring  him  at 
the  same  time,  as  the  others  now  came  forward,  that  they  were 
able  to  do  it,  and  would  do  it  forthwith,  unless  he  demeaned 
himself  more  like  a  gentleman.  This  had  the  intended  effect: 
The  young  man  became  quiet,  and  moved  off  quite  chapfallen, 
and  on  his  own  stumps,  just  as  he  came.  Thus  the  mare  was 
saved  for  that  time  ;  but  it  was  not  long  until  she  was  stolen  by 
the  tories,  and  was  never  recovered.  Had  Dr.  Caldwell  been 
able  to  foresee  this,  or  had  he  known  that  she  was  impressed  by 
the  proper  authority  in  the  first  mstance,  he  probably  would  not 
have  put  himself  to  so  much  trouble  and  expence  to  get  her 
back;  but  the  whole  transaction  shews  the  state  of  things  in  the 
country  at  the  time,  the  hardships  to  which  the  most  venerable 
and  peaceful  men  were  sometimes  subjected,  and  the  expedients 
to  which  people  often  resorted  to  save  or  rescue  their  most  favo- 
rite articles  of  property. 

With  most  men,  a  good  saddle  horse  is,  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
countries,  a  favorite  object;  but  in  this  country,  and  especially 
in  the  condition  in  which  it  was  at  that  time,  destitute  of  ?ood 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  207 

roads  and  filled  with  enemies,  foreign  and  domestic,  wlien  a 
man's  safety  often  depended  upon  the  fleetness  of  the  animal  on 
which  he  rode,  it  is  not  surprising  that  any  one  should  be  rehic- 
tant  to  part  with  the  horse  that  had  saved,  or  that  might  save 
his  life,  even  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  were  fighting  the  bat- 
tles of  their  country.  In  such  cases  there  was  hardship  on  both 
sides ;  and  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  discuss  the  question  of  du- 
ty, for  that  would  often  depend  on  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 
As  Dr.  Caldwell's  mare  was  taken  last  by  the  tories,  he  got  some 
compensation  for  her  after  the  war,  as  he  did  for  some  of  his 
other  losses,  by  proseculiug  the  men  who  had  done  the  mischief; 
but  he  did  not  get  what  he  considered  an  equivalent. 

About  the  same  time,  as  it  is  supposed,  an  incident  occurred 
of  a  diflerent  kind,  which  called  for  the  exercise  of  ditferent 
qualities,  and  was  rather  more  fortunate  in  its  results.  His 
brother  Alexander  Caldwell  was  either  in  the  army,  or  away 
from  home  on  business;  and  when  he  was  away  Dr.  Caldwell 
was  the  only  one  to  whom  his  wife  and  children  could  look  for 
advice  in  difficulty  or  for  protection  from  danger.  The  planta- 
tions joined  and  the  houses  were  not  a  mile  apart.  One  eve- 
ning about  dusk,  two  men  came  there  and  were  acting  very 
rudely,  seizing  whatever  they  wished  to  carry  away,  ordering 
her  to  get  supper  for  them,  &c.  It  is  said  they  were  British — 
one  a  sergeant  or  some  subaltern  officer,  and  the  other  a  com- 
mon soldier.  General  Greene  had  passed  by  Dr.  Caldwell's  a 
few  days  before ;  Cornwallis  was  now  passing  within  two  or 
three  miles  on  the  other  side  ;  and  the  supposition  is,  that  hav- 
ing camped  some  where  in  the  vicinity,  these  men  were  sent  out 
foraging,  as  others  had  been  in  other  directions.  There  was  no 
necessity  for  sending  many  together ;  for  the  militia  companies 
were  mostly  out  against  the  tories;  and  several  of  the  neigh- 
bors who  were  either  not  fit  for  military  service,  or  who  could 
not  leave  their  families  consistently  with  their  duty,  were  with 
Greene's  army — some  having  gone  alone,  and  others  had  taken 
their  families  with  them.  As  Greene  passed  by  they  took  their 
wagons  with  their  families  in  them  and  went  along  with  the  ar- 
my, merely  for  protection  ;  but  bore  their  own  expenses,  and 
returned  when  they  pleased.     Of  course  when  the  British  army 


208  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELJL.  D.D. 

l^assed  tlirough  the  country  in  pursuit  of  Greene,  it  met  with 
no  opposition  ;  and  the  men  thought  that  they  could  go  any 
wliere  without  fear  of  molestation.  Dr.  Caldwell  saw  the  two 
men  above  referred  to,  passing  by  the  end  of  his  lane  after  sun- 
set ;  and  as  they  were  going  towards  his  brother's  house,  it  oc- 
curred to  liini  that  perliaps  he  had  better  go  over ;  but  before 
he  started  or  fully  determined  to  go,  Mrs.  Caldwell  sent  a  mes- 
senger informing  him  of  the  circumstances,  and  requesting  his 
advice.  He  sent  her  word  that  she  must  treat  them  politely,  get 
them  as  good  a  supper  as  she  could,  and  as  soon  as  practicable  ; 
but  that  she  niust  be  careful  to  notice  where  they  put  their  guns, 
and  set  her  table  in  the  other  end  of  the  house  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time he  would  go  over  and  conceal  himself  behind  a  certain  hay- 
stack. Slie  was  moreover  directed  to  let  him  know  when  the 
men  sat  down  to  supper ;  and  to  inform  him  correctly  of  all  the 
arrangements. 

Tlie  house,  like  most  others  in  the  country  at  that  time,  was  a 
double  cabin,  or  a  log  house,  with  a  chimney  in  tlie  middle,  an 
outer  door  to  each  apartment,  and  a  communication  from  one 
end  to  t!ie  ot.icr;  and  siie  arranged  every  t 'ing  according  to  tiie 
directions  given.  While  tlie  men  were  engaged  in  demolisiang 
wi.at  was  on  the  table,  without  suspicion  of  danger  or  interrup- 
tion, he  went  quietly  into  ti.e  ot  .er  apartment,  took  up  one  of 
t  e  guns  Wi  ici;,  of  course  he  found  loaded,  and,  stepping  to  the 
door  of  ti  e  room  in  whicii  they  were  so  comfortably  em})loyedj 
presented  it,  and  told  tbemtliat  they  were  iiis  prisoners,  and  t  at 
if  t;;ey  attempted  to  resist  or  escape  their  life  would  be  tiie  forfeit. 
As  neither  of  ti  em  felt  willing  to  die  just  at  that  time,  they  surren- 
dered at  once;  and  he  marc.ed  taem  over  to  his  own  i  ouse 
MMiere  he  kept  tuem  until  morning ;  but  it  being  inconvenient 
for  hiim  to  keep  ti.em  long  at  l-is  ov-n  expense,  to  say  notning  of 
the  risk  ie  run  of  being  captured  i  imself  by  some  other  party  of 
the  British  or  tories,  and  Greene's  army  being  expected  back  in  a 
Si  ort  time,  I  e  put  tiem  on  their  parole  by  making  ti  em  take  a 
solemn  oath  on  t  .e  Family  Bil)le  t.  at  they  would  not  lake  up 
arms  against  the  United  States,  nor  in  any  way  assist  the  Britisii 
or  tories,  but  demean  themselves  peaceably  and  return  to  h,im  on 
suc.i  a  day.     By  that  tune  he  expected  Greene's  array  would  be 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  20f4 

111  the  country  or  somewhere  within  reach  ;  Ijut  in  this  he  was 
disappointed.  However  they  kept  their  word  very  honorably, 
and  returned  to  him  on  the  very  day  appointed  ;  but  as  Greene 
had  not  come  accordmg  to  expectation,  and  it  being  uncertain 
when  he  would  come,  as  he  was  employed  in  watchiiig  the 
movements  of  Cornwallis  about  Hillsborough,  and  waitmg  for 
more  reinforcements,  he  put  them  on  their  parole  again  in  the 
same  way  ;  and  directed  them  to  go  and  report  themselves  to 
Col.  Paisley.  It  was  never  known,  or  is  not  now  recollected, 
what  became  of  them ;  for  his  own  situation  soon  after  became 
perilous ;  and  Col.  Paisley  being  almost  constantly  out  on  duty 
he  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  him,  until  after  the  Guilford 
battle,  when  matters  of  this  kind  were  pretty  mtlch  forgotten. 
When  the  writer  came  into  this  country  however,  a  number  of 
years  ago,  the  circumstance  was  well  recollected  by  the  old  peo- 
ple then  living ;  and  it  is  still  recollected  by  some  of  Dr.  Cald- 
well's family  ;  for  although  they  were  then  small,  it  made  an 
impression  which  could  not  be  erased,  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
fact  as  above  related  is  substantially  correct. 

It  is  said  that  Dr.  Caldwq^  was  known  to  Lord  Cornwallis, 
by  character,  before  he  ever  crossed  the  limits  of  North  Caroli- 
na ;  and  this  was  probably  the  fact.  Governor  Tryon  became 
well  acquainted  with  him  at  and  after  the  Regulation  battle  ; 
and  whatever  he  knew  would  probably  be  communicated  to 
those  whom  it  concerned.  The  Doctor  was  also  a  member  of 
the  convention  which  adopted  the  State  constitution ;  and  his 
lordship  would  no  doubt  be  made  acquainted  with  the  names 
and  character  of  the  men  who  composed  that  body.  Again, 
the  men  of  his  congregations  were  all  thorough-going  whigs; 
and  that  of  itself  would  be  enough  ;  for  a  commander  like  Corn- 
wallis would  hardly  penetrate  into  a  country  without  knowing 
bow  the  people  in  its  different  sections  stood  alfected  towards 
him.  However  tiiis  may  have  been,  when  Cornwallis  came  in- 
to this  region  he  offered  a  reward  for  his  apprehension  :  so  says 
tradition  ;  and  it  appears  to  have  been  so  uniform  and  so  well^ 
sustained  that  the  probability  in  the  case  is  certainly  very  strong. 
When  the  writer  first  came  into  this  county,  before  Dr.  Cald- 
well's death,  it  was  frequently  mentioned  by  the  old  people  in 
37 


:;310  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.B. 

his  congregations,  as  a  thing  of  which  there  was  no  doubt ;  nor 
has  it  ever  been  contradicted  or  doubted  since.  It  is  also  said 
■i?^»ir.>i  -..-.^Jaat  the  reward  offered  was  £200;  and  that  they  found  a  Judas, 
not  in  his  congregations  nor  in  his  immediate  neighborhood,  but 
within  a  few  miles,  who  agreed  to  betray  him  for  the  proffered 
reward  ;  but  as  he  v/as  disappointed,  it  is  best  perl;aps  to  let  his 
name  be  forgotten.  It  was  not  long  however,  until  he  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  tories ;  but  was  again  delivered. 

A  reward  having  been  offered  for  liis  apprehension,  as  he  un- 
derstood ;  and  the  tories,  encouraged  by  the  proximity  of  the 
British,  having  become  more  bold  and  reckless,  he  did  not  deem 
it  prudent  to  remain  in  his  house  ;  but  lay  concealed  for  the 
most  part  in  the  woods, — coming  home  occasionally  to  see  his 
family,  but  making  his  visits  short.  He  apprehended  no  dan- 
ger of  his  life  from  the  British,  as  he  often  remarked  ;  nor  from 
the  tories  while  the  British  were  within  reach  ;  for  the  object  of 
the  former  in  apprehending  him,  if  they  could  do  it,  would  be, 
as  he  supposed,  to  deliver  him  up  and  get  the  reward ;  but  in 
this  he  might  have  been  mistaken.  Having  ventured  home  one 
day,  however,  he  had  not  long  been  there  until  the  house  was 
suddenly  surrounded  by  a  body  of  armed  men  ;  and  he  was  ta- 
ken prisoner.  They  were  tories,  and  intended  carrying  him  to 
'^  the  British  camp,  then,  as  we  suppose,  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
county  ;  but  as  their  primary  object  was  plunder,  they  set  one 
or  two  to  guard  him,  and  the  rest  went  to  gather  up  what  pro- 
visions, clothing,  &c,,  they  could  find.  Some  of  his  family, 
though  they  were  then  young,  still  recollect  seeing  their  father 
standing  there  beside  the  plunder,  while  the  men  were  around  him 
with  then-  guns ;  and  they  often  heard  their  parents  relate  the 
circumstances  for  years  afterwards.  When  they  were  nearly 
ready,  as  they  supposed,  to  depart — the  plunder  piled  up  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  and  he  with  his  guard  standing  beside  it, — 
Mrs.  Dunlap,  who  happened  to  be  in  the  house  at  the  time, 
though  she  had  hitherto  remained  with  Mrs.  Caldwell  in  an  ad- 
joining room,  with  that  promptness  and  presence  of  mind  for 
which  females  are  often  so  remarkable  in  sudden  emergencies, 
stepped  up  behind  him,  leaned  over  his  shoulder,  and,  whisper- 
ing hi  his  ear  as  if  intending  that  he  alone  should  hear  it,  but 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  211 

really  intending  that  some  of  those  who  stood  by  should  hear  it 
too,  asked  iiim  if  it  was  not  time  for  Gillespie*  and  his  men  to 
be  here.  The  one  who  stood  nearest,  as  she  intended  he  should, 
caught  the  words  ;  and,  with  manifest  alarm,  asked  her  what 
men  ?  She  told  liim  it  was  none  of  his  business ;  for  she  was 
just  speaking  to  her  brother.  But  that  served  only  to  increase 
the  alarm  ;  and,  in  a  moment,  they  were  all  panic-struck,  and 
in  perfect  confusion  ; — some  exclaiming,  "  who  ?  who  ?  what 
men?"  and  others  vociferating  at  the  top  of  their  voice,  "let 
us  go,  let  us  go,  or  the  d — nd  rebels  will  be  on  us  thick  as  hell 
before  we  know  what  we  are  about;"  and  in  the  consternation 
produced  by  this  ingenious  though  simple  maneuver  on  the  part 
of  Mrs.  Dunlap,  they  all  fled  with  precipitation,  leaving  their 
prisoner  to  the  enjoyment  of  his  liberty,  and  their  plunder  to 
the  care  of  its  rightful  owners.  Some  alarm  was  perhaps  natu- 
ral ;  for  they  were  just  within  the  limits  of  one  of  the  strongest 
Avhig  neighborhoods  in  the  State,  as  Dr.  Caldwell  lived  on  the 
west  side  of  his  congregations  and  near  the  line  of  separation 
between  them  and  the  Quaker  settlement ;  Gillespie  too  and  his 
men  were  a  scourge  and  a  terror  to  the  tories  ;  and  then  Gen. 

*  This  was  John  Gillespie  who  has  been  already  noticed  as  shewinij  so 
much  prowess  in  and  after  the  Reg-ulation  battle.  He  was  then  a  captain; 
but  '.\as  r-.ised  to  tl.P  rank  of  C  'lori'  1  soon  aft<'r  the  Declaration  ot  Indepen- 
dence, ile  was  too  daring  and  imprtuous  perhaps  to  have  the  command  of  a 
larjT"  body  of  men;  but  with  a  email  number  of  kmdred  opirifs  such  at  the 
Forbises.  the  Halls,  the  McAdoos  and  oliiers, lie  wat;  admiratily  calculated  for 
the  service  in  which  he  wa;-  engajred  as  a  partizan  officer;  and  while  he  ex- 
ploits which  he  performed  were  sufficient  in  number  and  importance  to  fur- 
nish materials  for  a  novel  or  a  romance,  one  wi'l  suffice  to  illustrate  his  char- 
acter. Not  iongattertlie  war  commenced  he  was  out  on  an  expedition  auainst 
the  tories  below  Deep  River.  Within  a  lew  miles  ol  the  place  where  quite 
a  large  body  of  them  were  encamped,  most  of  his  men,  having  been  by  some 
means  or  other  separated  from  hitn,  were  captured  in  the  evening  and  taken 
to  the  encampment.  Early  in  th'^  morninsjf,  having  learned  what  had  happen- 
ed, he  proposed  ^o  the  few  who  were  with  him,  to  go  and  release  the  men; 
but  th(\v  told  him  that  it  was  folly  to  think  of  it;  for  the  tories  were  ten  or 
twenty  to  one;  and  if  they  should  g-et  him  in  their  power  they  would  be  sure 
to  takt'  his  lite.  This  was  true  ;  tor  although  they  had  never  seen  him  they 
knew  him  well  by  character  ;  and  would  rather  have  had  him  put  out  of  the 
way  than  a  dozen  others.  However  he  determined  on  making  an  efTbrt  to 
save  his  men,  whether  any  body  went  with  him  or  not;  and  set  ofl'alone. — 
When  he  arrived  at  the  camp  fie  found  a  large  body  of  them  collected  around 
his  men:  and  heard  them  telling  John  Hall,  one  of  his  hf^st  men,  that  he 
might  be  saying  his  prayers  as  fast  as  he  could ;  for  he  had  but  a  few  minutes 
to  live.  Gillespie  rode  a  very  fleet  animal  ;  and,  throwing  her  bridle  loosely 
over  a  bush,  he  walked  up  carelessly  into  the  crowd.     His  men  saw  him ;  but 


21^  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.r. 

Greene  with  his  army  was  known  to  be  distant  not  more  than 
a  good  day's  march,  the  cavahy  or  some  scouting  party  of  which 
might  come  upon  them  at  any  time  ;  but  that  they  should  be  so 
panic- struck  by  a  whisper  as  to  fly  before  an  enemy  was  in 
sight,  though  in  such  a  situation  that  they  could  have  seen  one 
approaching  from  almost  any  direction,  and  while  at  a  conside- 
rable distance,  can  be  accounted  for  only  on  the  supposition  that 
the  hand  of  an  overruling  Providence  was  in  it ;  and  it  furnish- 
es additional  proof  that  "  he  is  doubly  armed,  whose  cause  is 
just." 

There  never  was  a  cause  m  this  world,  however  good,  that 
was  not  injured  and  disgraced  by  pretended  friends ;  and  the 
cause  of  American  Independence  shared,  in  this  respect,  the 
common  fate  of  every  thing  good.  Every  body  has  read  or 
heard  of  Piles'  defeat,  which  took  place  about  halfway  between 
the  present  town  of  Greensborougli  and  Hilisborough;  and  wliile 
everyone  has  felt  indigiiant  that  some  four  or  five  hundred  men 
from  the  south-west  quarter  of  Orange,  with  some  perhaps  from 
the  parts  of  Guilford  and  Randolph  adjoining,  should  thus  at- 
tempt to  strengthen  the  enemies  of  their  country,  he  has  at  the 

were  careful  not  to  bptray  him  either  by  look?,  words  •r  actions.  The  tories 
felt  a  little  disconcerted  by  the  sudden  apppaiance  of  a  stranaer  among  them 
under  such  circum.-tances;  and  they  hardly  k.nevv  how  to  proceed;  but,  they 
goon  a.-ked  Hall  it  he  knew  John  Gille^^pie?  IJe  replied  ti)ai  he  did,  very  well; 
and  thai  he  gloried  in  being  one  of  his  men.  He  was  then  a.>-kfd  if  he  knew 
where  he  was.  He  said  if  he  did.  he  would  not  tell.  They  offered  him  his 
life  if  he  would  give  them  such  intormation  that  they  could  get  him  in  their 
poscssion;  but  he  nobly  refused  to  save  his  life  upon  any  such  tenns  The 
question  was  then  put,  'Is  be  in  this  pl-:ice]'  Keeping  his  back  to  Gillespie 
and  casting  his  eyes  over  the  crewd,  he  replied,  '  Ifhe  is  I  do  not  see  him.' — 
He  was  then  commanded  to  mount  a  stump  close  by,  and  look  all  over.  Keep- 
ing Gillespie  again  in  his  rear,  and  looking  over  the  company  from  thit  more 
elevated  position,  he  made  the  same  reply.  He  was  now  ordered  to  turn 
round  and  tell  them  at  once  whether  he  was  on  tlie  ground  o."  not;  for  they 
would  be  trifled  with  no  longer.  He  turned  round;  but  looking  entirely  over 
Gillpspie,  he  still  gave  the  sime  answer — *  If  he  is  here  f  do  not  see  him.' — 
With  that  they  became  angry,  and  told  him  with  an  oath  that  he  had  but  three 
minutes  to  live.  When  Gillespie  saw  that  his  men  would  not  betray  him 
even  to  escape  an  ignominious  death;  and  that  th^re  was  no  more  time  to 
lose,  ho  walked  ofl'io  his  English  filly,  as  he  called  her;  and  as  he  vaulted  in- 
to the  saddle,  told  them  he  was  John  Gillespie,  and  they  might  make  their 
best  of  it.  That  was  enough:  the  shout  was  immediately  raised;  the  men 
ffevv  to  their  horses;  and  in  their  eagerness  toget  him,  let  the  others  escape; 
but  he  was  as  much  at  their  defiance  in  flight  as  he  was  in  battle,  when  the 
disparity  ol  numbers  was  not  too  great. 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  213 

same  time  felt  delighted  with  the  tact  and  bravery  of  Col.  Leu, 
who  so  adroitly  and  completely  cut  them  off,  before  they  ac- 
compHshed  their  purpose,  and  thus  turned  the  tide  of  fortune  in 
favor  of  his  country.  This  was  one  of  tlie  most  fortunate  exploits 
of  that  heroic  and  euterprizing  officer^-the  most  fortunate,  I 
mean,  for  the  cause  of  independence  m  this  State;  but  there 
were  some  things  about  it,  whicli,  though  they  have  not  been 
noticed,  ought  to  be  known,  in  justice  to  a  jiortion  of  those  who 
were  so  suddenly  and  so  fortunately  perhaps  for  the  cause  of 
freedom,  hurried  into  eternity.  Some  of  them  were  driven  to 
take  the  step  which  they  did,  by  tlie  injustice  and  oppression  of 
certain  officers  in  the  whig  ranks;  and  if  my  information  be 
correct,  the  name  of  Col.  William  O'Neil  ought  to  be  more  odi- 
ous than  that  of  tory  ;  for  while  he  was  elevated  in  rank,  and 
clothed  with  power  for  the  benefit  of  his  country,  he  used  both, 
not  for  the  common  good  which  he  was  bound  in  honor,  and  by 
the  most  sacred  obhgations  to  support,  but  to  enrich  himself. 
Many  of  those  men  were  no  doubt  destitute  of  principle,  and 
deserved  the  reward  which  they  received  ;  but  others  of  them 
had  been  true  friends  to  the  cause  of  independence,  and  had  even 
suffered  much  in  support  of  that  cause.  This  was  the  case  par- 
ticularly with  the  German  pajt  of  them,  who  not  being  able  to 
understand  English,  and  being  generally  in  good  circumstances, 
Avere  fit  subjects  for  the  rapacity  of  such  a  man  as  Col.  O'Neil ; 
and  seeing  no  other  way  of  escape  from  his  oppressions,  they 
sought  refuge  in  the  British  army.  Many  however,  who  left 
home  with  the  intention  of  joining  the  British  standard,  not  hav- 
ing fallen  in  with  the  body  which  was  forming  under  Col.  Piles 
for  that  purpose,  when  they  heard  of  his  defeat ;  immediately 
returned,  but  the  following  communication  from  an  old  gentlemen 
of  much  intelligence  and  respectability  in  that  neighborhood, 
who  has  been  already  referred  to,  will  give  the  reader  some  idea 
of  Col.  O'Neil's  treacherous  conduct,  and  of  its  effects  upon  the 
people  in  his  region. 

«  Debember  5th,  1841. 
'■^DearSir — I  write  you  a  few  lines  on  the  subject,  about  which 
we  had  some  conversation  when  you  were  at  my  house,  I  mean 
the  conduct,  for  a  few  years  previous  to  the  Guilford  battle,  of 


214  LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELX.  D.D. 

Capt.  O'Neil,  who  was,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  Instead  of  aiding  in  the  de- 
fence of  our  country  against  the  tyranny  of  England,  liis  con- 
duct had  a  tendency  to  sour  the  minds  of  our  citizens  against  the 
government  recently  established.  His  taking  advantage  of  the 
times  to  speculate  and  make  money,  commenced  when  a  cap- 
tain, by  drafting  an  old  man's  son,  among  others,  to  go  against 
the  notorious  Col.  Fannen,  who  commanded  a  company  oftories, 
and  occupied  the  swamps  and  sandy  wilds  between  Cape  Fear 
and  Pee  Uee  rivers ;  but  this  region,  having  been  represented  as 
very  sickly,  was  a  terror  to  the  people;  and  he  obtained  ^675 
from  the  old  man,  by  finding  a  substitute  for  his  son.  This 
money  he  divided  with  the  other  two  officers  of  the  company, 
the  lieutenant  and  ensign,  but  the  ensign  returned  the  old  man 
his  third  part  of  the  money,  which  was  £25.  O'Neil  soon  be- 
came very  expert  in  this  kind  of  traffic ;  and  increased  his  calls 
for  men,  solely  that  he  might  have  it  in  his  power  to  take  ad- 
vantage of^their  necessities  or  their  fears;  for  he  always  had 
some  understrappers  ready  to  take  the  drafted  man's  place,  for 
good  pay;  and  one  man  was  known  to  take  the  place  of  six 
ditferent  men  in  one  day.  There  was  no  power  to  call  him  to 
account,  as  he  was  head  commander  of  the  regiment ;  and  he 
operated  in  this  way  in  the  less  informed  parts  of  the  country, 
"The  people  in  tliis  neighborhood  were  still  somewhat  cowed 
by  the  late  Regulation  battle,  and  the  tyranny  of  Gov.  Tryoii. — 
When  young  men  returned,  after  having  actually  served  the  lour 
for  which  they  were  drafted,  he  would  renew  his  calls  for  men  ; 
and  those  who  were  most  able  to  pay,  by  having  a  good  horse 
or  a  rich  friend,  were  the  most  lucky  to  he  drafted.  As  iic  knew 
the  circumstances  of  most  men  in  the  country,  liis  practice  was, 
while  he  professed  to  put  the  blanks  and  prizes  all  in  a  hat,  to 
keep  out  the  names  of  those  whom  he  wished  to  have  drafted, 
and  put  them  into  the  drawer's  hand  as  it  went  into  the  hat :  of 
course  the  right  ones  were  always  drawn.  He  obtained  so  many 
horses  in  this  way,  that  he  employed  an  active  old  man  to  drive 
them  to  the  lower  counties  about  Edenton  for  sale ;  but  he  was 
so  prudent  in  his  maneuvering  with  the  enemy,  that  he  never 
had  a  fight  with  Fannen.     They  would  run,  turn  about,  and 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELI.,  D.D.  ~1') 

some  iriins  were  perhaps  fired  at  long  distances ;  but  he  always 
kept  out  of  harm's  way  ;  and  never  went  far  over  Deep  river, 
generally  about  Moore  county.  This  conduct  so  ruflied  the 
minds  of  the  people  that  many  of  them  refused  io  serve  or  pay 
his  price  :  some  tied  to  their  friends  in  other  counties ;  and  others 
lay  out  for  days  ai,d  months  at  a  time.  The  end  of  this  op- 
pression was  the  arrival  of  the  British  army  at  Hillsborough, 
when  the  outlyers,  and  all  who  would  not  submit  to  O'Neil's 
tyranny,  flocked  to  the  British  standard ;  and  not  many  of  them 
ever  returned.  O'Neil  became  very  rich,  though  he  was  very 
poor  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  He  never  fought  any  ;  and 
was  not  in  the  Guilford  battle,  but  was  sitting,  on  that  memora- 
ble day,  at  his  own  fireside." 

The  defeat  of  Col.  Piles,  and  the  effect  which  it  had  upon  the 
loyalists  of  the  surrounding  country,  had  its  share  of  influence  in 
drawing  Cornwallis  from  Hillsborough;  and  after  a  skirmish 
with  the  Americans  on  the  Alamance  creek,  and  another  on  the 
Reedy  Fork,  at  Wetzel's  mills,  he  moved  up  with  his  army  into 
Dr.  Caldwell's  congregations.  They  first  encamped  on  the 
plantation  of  William  Rankin,  who  lived  on  the  North  Buflalo 
creek,  and  was  a  member  of  the  BuflTalo  church.  He  was  a 
man  in  good  circumstances,  highly  respectable,  and  withal,  a 
staunch  whig.  After  remaining  there  until  they  had  eaten  up 
and  destroyed  every  thing  on  the  plantation  or  in  the  neighbor- 
hood that  was  eatable  or  destructable,  they  removed  over  into 
the  Alamance  congregation,  and  encamped  on  the  plantation  of 
Ralph  Gorrel,  Esq.,  who  lived  on  the  South  Buflalo  creek,  and 
was  not  only  a  true  whig,  but  was  in  better  circumstances  than 
any  other  man  in  that  settlement.  The  family  were  turned  out, 
as  at  other  places,  to  shift  for  themselves  ;  and  the  oflicers  took 
possession  of  the  house.  What  the  men  and  their  horses  could 
not  consume,  was  destroyed  :  the  corn  cribs  were  pulled  down, 
and  the  corn  wasted  ;  the  hay  and  fodder  were  burned  or  scat- 
tered about ;  the  fences  were  destroyed  ;  and  it  seemed  to  be  an 
object  with  them  to  do  as  much  mischief,  and  produce  as  much 
wretchedness  over  the  country  as  possible,  even  to  the  unoflend- 
mg  and  the  helpless.  Their  cavalry  and  detached  parties  were 
almost  continually  out  foraging  and  annoying  the  inhabitants; 


.'•ilG  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

but  they  did  not  always  return  in  safety  ;  for  Col.  Lee  who  was 
ever  on  the  alert,  was  harassing  them  at  every  turn ;  and  some- 
tunes  the  neighbors  would  way-lay  them,  and  cause  them  to 
return  with  one  less  than  they  took  away. 

For  some  time,  probably  for  two  weeks  or  more,  Dr.  Caldwell 
had  kept  his  retreat  in  a  very  sequestered  place  in  the  low 
grounds  of  North  Buffalo  ;  and  about  two  miles  from  his  own 
house.  Not  far  from  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  writing, 
or  perhaps  a  little  earlier,  though  the  precise  date  is  not  recol- 
lected, he  came  nearer  losing  his  life,  or  being  captured  by  the 
enemy  than  he  had  ever  done ;  and  the  event  made  a  more  vi- 
vid and  abiding  impression  on  his  mind,  through  subsequent 
life,  than  any  other.  Plis  enemies,  anxious  to  get  him  in  their 
power,  attempted  to  accomplish  their  purpose  by  stratagem  and 
falsehood ;  and  they  had  well  nigh  succeeded.  Some  half  a 
dozen  men  rode  up  to  his  gate  one  evening  towards  sunset,  and, 
having  called  out  Mrs.  Caldwell,  ask^d  her  where  her  husband 
was.  She  replied  that  she  expected  he  was  in  Greene's  camp. 
They  told  her  he  was  not  there  5  for  they  had  come  directly  from 
it ;  but  that  Gen.  Greene,  having  understood  that  he  was  a  good 
physician,  had  sent  them  to  take  him  there,  if  possible,  as  he 
had  a  great  njany  sick  men  in  his  camp,  and  wished  to  have 
his  assistance  as  a  physician.  This  was  said  with  so  much  ap- 
parent sincerity  and  candor,  that  she  was  completely  deceived, 
and  in  the  prevalence  of  sympathy  and  benevolence,  she  repli- 
ed that  if  he  was  not  there  she  did  not  know  certainly  where 
he  was,  as  he  had  expressed  an  intention  the  last  time  she  savv 
him,  of  going  there  ;  but  added  that,  if  he  was  not  there,  he 
was  probably  in  a  certain  place  on  the  North  Buffalo,  which  she 
described.  That  was  all  they  desired  ;  and  with  many  bows  and 
thanks,  they  bid  her  goodbye;  but  there  was  something  in 
their  looks  and  actions,  atU'.r  they  had  got  the  secret,  which  ex- 
cited her  suspicion  ;  and  the  thought  innnediately  came  across 
her  mind  with  alarming  power  that  she  had  been  imposed  on, 
and  had  betrayed  her  husband.  Bat  it  was  too  late  :  the  word 
was  out ;  and  the  men  were  gone.  All  she  coiild  do  was  to  com- 
mit him  to   the    protection  of  her  covenant-keeping  God;  and 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  217 

thai  night  avus  spent,  not  only  in  sleepless  solicitude,  but  in  fer- 
vent prayer. 

Whether  they  were  all  tories,  or  part  British  and  part  tories, 
is  not  now  recollected,  if  it  was  ever  known  ;  but  as  it  was  too 
late  for  them  to  venture  into  such  a  place  that  night,  unacquainted 
as  they  were  with  the  locality  and  the  way  of  access,  they  made 
their  arrangements,  it  seems,  to  be  there  very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing. In  the  course  of  the  night,  he  dreamed  three  times  in^ue-*''' 
cession,  that  he  was  in  danger  there,  and  must  leave  the  place. 
This  made  such  an  impression  on  his  mind,  that  as  soon  as  day- 
light appeared,  he  gathered  up  what  few  articles  he  had  with 
him,  and  set  otf  for  Gen.  Greene's  camp,  which  was  then  on  or 
near  Troublesome  creek ;  but,  as  it  was  ascertained  afterwards, 
he  had  not  left  more  than  a  few  minutes  when  his  pursuers  ar- 
rived. Those  who  choose  may  sneer  at  the  idea  of  his  having 
been  warned  of  his  danger  in  a  dream ;  but  of  the  fact,  as  the 
writer  has  been  assured  by  his  family,  there  is  no  doubt ;  and  it 
answered  the  purpose,  come  from  what  source  it  might.  His 
enemies  were  disappointed  ;  and  he  was  preserved,  if  not  from 
death,  at  least  from  trouble -and  vexation;  and  there  is  no  one, 
not  even  the  greatest  sceptic,  or  the  most  wicked  man,  who 
would  not  be  willing  to  be  preseved  in  the  same  way,  when  cut 
off  from  the  ordinary  means  of  deliverance.  No  man  of  intelli- 
gence and  sober  reflection  will  ever  pay  any  superstitioiTs  regard 
to  dreams,  and  neither  expect  them  before  hand  as  a  means  of 
securing  his  welfare,  nor  rely  upon  them  at  any  time  when  he 
has  it  in  his  power  to  ascertain  his  duty,  or  make  provision  foi- 
his  safety,  in  the  ordinary  way  ;  but  no  substantial  reason  hns 
been  given  why  impressions,  intended  to  secure  his  welfare,  if 
suddenly  placed  in  circumstances  of  great  peril  or  difficulty,  may 
not  be  made  by  some  guardian  power  on  the  mind  of  a  good 
man  when  asleep  as  well  as  when  awake ;  for  the  angel  of  ike 
Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and  deliver- 
clh  them.  Were  we  to  admit  the  prniciple  that  such  impressions 
may  be  made  at  any  time,  they  may  be  made  at  one  time  as  well 
as  another ;  for  it  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  the  mind 
is  always  active  ;  and,  not  from  any  feelings  of  superstition,  but 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  they  must  be  more  effectual  if  m;uie 
■2S 


:^1S  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

in  sleep  lliaii  \\Micn  the  person  is  awake.  It  is  not  my  intention 
however,  to  enter  into  any  discussion  of  this  matter  here,  nor 
even  to  express  an  opinion ;  but  simply  to  state  the  fact  as  it  oc- 
curred, and  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions,  or 
make  what  comments  he  pleases;  yet  it  may  be  proper  to  re- 
mark farther  that  he  regarded  it  ever  afterwards,  and  probably 
every  christian  will  love  to  contemplate  it,  in  whatever  way  it 
may  be  explained  or  accounred  for,  as  a  kind  interposition  in 
his  favor  when  placed  in  a  most  perilous  and  critical  situation, 
in  which  there  could  be  no  hope  of  succor  from  any  other 
source. 

As  the  event  just  related  could  not  have  taken  place  more 
than  a  week  or  ten  days  previous  to  the  battle  at  Guilford  court- 
house, he  must  have  remained  in  Gen.  Greene's  camp,  or  in  the 
vicinity  of  it,  until  after  the  conflict ;  for  he  did  not  return  to  his 
family  until  the  evening  of  the  day  following  or  perhaps  not  un- 
til the  second  day  after  the  battle. 

The  British  army  having  spent  about  two  days  at  GorrelPs, 
consuming,  like  the  locnsts  of  Egypt,  every  green  thing,  and  de- 
stroymg  furniture,  fences,  farming  tools,  &c.,  made  their  next 
encampment  on  the  premises  of  Dr.  Caldwell;  and  as  this  was 
a  very  important  event  in  his  history,  we  beg  leave  to  give  it  with 
some  minuteness,  just  as  it  was  received  from  his  family,  and 
one  or  two  of  his  old  pupils  who  lived  in  the  family  within  a 
few  years  after  the  event  took  place ;  because^  in  the  life  of  an 
individual,  especially  of  one  who  was  not  directly  engaged  in 
the  great  political  or  military  transactions  of  the  nation,  no  cir- 
cumstance or  occurrence,  however  trivial  in  itself,  can  be  out  of 
place,  or  fail  to  be  interesting,  and  just  in  proportion  as  it  alfects 
his  usefulness  or  his  personal  comfort. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  which,  it  is  believed,  was  the  Sunday 
before  tlie  battle,  some  gentlemen  rode  up  to  the  gate  and  asked 
for  the  landlady,  as  they  called  her.  Two  of  the  neighbor  njen 
happened  to  be  there'  at  the  time  ;  but  they  remained  in  th(^ 
house,  and  kept  out  of  view  until  they  could  be  satisfied  wheth- 
er the  men  were  friends  or  foes.  There  was  also  a  woman  liv- 
ing in  llie  family  at  the  time,  whom  we  shall  call  Margaret. — 
She  was  a  siuirle  woman,  thouoli   somewhat  advanced  in  life : 


LIFE  OV  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  21^) 

but  being  •' a  woman  of  rough  manners,  and  of  rougher  Ian 
guage,  when  excited,"  fearing  no  body  and  caring  not  what  she 
said,  or  in  whose  presence,  Mrs.  Caldwell  persuaded  her  to  go 
out  and  pass  herself  for  the  landlady,  which  she  did  witlioutany 
hesitation.  One  of  the  gentlemen,  who  was  introduced  to  her 
as  Col.  Washington,  asked  her  where  Dr.  Caldwell  was.  She  re- 
plied that  she  expected  he  was  in  Gen.  Greene's  camp.  He  told 
her  she  must  be  mistaken  ;  .for  they  were  just  from  the  camp, 
and  he  was  not  there.  She  then  said,  if  he  was  not  there  she 
did  know  where  he  was,  as  she  had  not  seen  him  for  some  time. 
With  that  they  rode  away  ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  some  of  them 
returned,  and  called  again  for  the  landlady.  Margaret  went 
out  as  before  ;  but  having  ascertained  or  suspected  the  decep- 
tion, they  told  her  she  was  not  the  one  they  wanted,  and  they 
must  see  the  landlady.  Mrs.  Caldwell  then  went  out  to  the  gate 
herself,  when  the  same  gentleman  was  introduced  to  her  as  Col. 
Washington ;  the  same  questions  were  asked ;  and  similar  an- 
swers were  given.  When  this  gentleman  was  introduced  to 
Mrs.  Caldwell  as  Col.  Washington,  Margaret  disputed  it,  and 
flat  contradictions  were  bandied  from  one  to  the  other  several 
times,  the  one  affirming  and  the  other  denying,  until  having 
mounted  the  fence,  and  seeing  some  of  the  army  at  a' distance 
entering  the  field,  she  replied,  "  It's  a  d — nd  lie  ;  for  there  are 
your  d — nd  red  coats."  Mrs.  Caldwell  also  began  to  suspect  as 
soon  as  she  went  to  the  gate  that  they  were  British,  and  by  a 
little  inspection  of  their  dress,  &c.,  as  well  as  by  the  reply  of 
Margaret,  was  now  convinced  that  this  was  the  fact.  Under 
this  conviction,  she  politely  asked  them  to  excuse  her  for  a  min- 
ute, that  she  might  sec  to  her  child,  which  was  then  a  sucking 
infant,  only  a  few  months  old  ;  and  running  into  the  house,  as 
if  for  that  purpose,  she  told  the  men,  who  were  still  thi;re,  to  es- 
cape from  the  other  door  as  speedily  as  possible,  for  those  men 
at  the  gate  were  certainly   the  British.*     Having  given  them 

*One  of  these  men,  it  is  said,  made  his  escape:  the  otli^r  crawled  into  a 
larg-e  hollow  log,  not  far  from  the  house,  ihinkinw  that  tli*^  Briti^li  were  only 
passiiii^  by  and  would  soon  be  o-one;  but  to  his  utter  surprise  and  disniiiy,  he 
soon  found  that  there  was  u  squad  of  soldeirs  about  the  lo"-,  piliiis^  up  brush 
and  kindlinj^  a  fire.  lie  had  not  much  time  to  deliberate;  for  tiie  lojr  was 
very  dry  ;  and  the  (laijics  were  crackmgand  roarling  around  him.     To  remain 


V 


320  LIFK  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  1>.D. 

warning  she  returned  to.  the  gate,  when  one  of  theiu  told  lior 
that  tliey  would  not  deceive  her;  for  they  were  the  British,  and 
must  have  tlie  use  of  her  house  for  a  day  or  two.  With  that 
they  alighted,  and  took  possession  of  their  quarters  without  de- 
lay. Dr.  B.  says,  "  The  gentleman  who  attempted  to  pass  him- 
self for  Col.  Washington  was  Lord  Corn wallis.  I  had  always 
considered  his  lordship  the  most  dangerous  and  deadly  enemy 
of  my  country,  yet  a  gentleman ;  and  Lwould  frequently  observe 
to  the  old  ladj'',  when  rehearsing  this  scene,  that  she  might  have 
been  deceived ;  for  certainly  Cornwallis  would  not  condescend 
so  disingenuously  to  deceive  a  lone  woman ;  but  she  always  em- 
phatically replied  that  it  was  Cornwallis,  and  she  knew  his  per- 
son well,  as  he  had  a  defect  in  his  left  eye."  Wiien  they  turn- 
ed her  out  of  the  house  "  she  retired  to  the  smokehouse  where 
she  was  confined  for  two  days  and  nights  v/ith  no  other  food  for 
herself  or  her  children  than  a  few  dried  peaches,  which  she 
chanced  to  have  in  her  pockets.  Her  situation  was  peculiarly 
distressing,  as  she  had  borne  five  children  in  two  years  or  a  lit- 
tle more,  four  of  which  consisted  of  two  sets  of  twins,  one  of 
which  died  soon  after  they  were  born,  but  the  other  two  are  yet 
living,  and  the  fifth  was  quite  a  young  infant.  Such  was  her 
distress  that  she  went  at  last  to  her  own  door,  andj  falling  on 
ler  knees,  begged  for  food  for  her  children  ;  but  no  attention 
was  paid  to  her  entreaties.  Margaret  exerted  herself  greatly  for 
her,  passing  fearlessly  and  resolutely  among  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers, and  returning  them  curse  for  curse.     The  old  lady  used 

there  was  certain  death;  and  the  idfia  of  beingr  siifFocated  with  smoke  and 
burned  up  there  without  any  body  knowing  it,  was  by  no  means  a  pleasant  one. 
By  faliin<r  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  he  might  find  mercy;  and  of  course 
this  was  the  alternative  chosen;  but  as  he  had  crone  in  head  foremost,  he  was 
obliged  to  keep  in  the  same  lonq-itudinal  position  until  he  {jot  out.  Tlie  atten- 
tion of  the.  soldiers  was  soon  attracted  by  a  mysterious  ruinblinar  inside  of  the 
log;  and  when  he  first  became  visible  through  the  smoke  and  brush  at  the 
end,  and  covered  as  he  was  with  tlie  black  rotten  wood,  his  appearance,  instan- 
taneously and  with  great  force  suggested  the  idea  ot  a  certain  personage  whose 
name  they  weie  in  the  habit  of  using  at  all  times  very  familiarly,  but  whose 
visible  and  tangible  presence  was  by  no  means  airreeable.  Many  ex.daniations 
were  uttered  at  the  moment,  and  some  trepidation  manifested;  but  when  he 
liad  retrograded  far  enough  to  let  them  see  that  he  was  really  a  human  being, 
am!  notsometiiing  worse,  their  alarm  jruve  place  to  the  most  boisterous  mirth  ; 
und  Tt'tcr  keeping  him  over  night,  more  lor  sport  than  any  thing  else,  and  find- 
ing that  he  was  not  likely  to  do  them  much  harm  any  where,  they  gave  him 
his  liberty,  rut.her  than  be  troubled  with  his  maintenance. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  221 

to  say,  when  talking  on  the  subject  of  her  trials  on  this  occa- 
sion, 'Ah  !  JSIargaret  was  a  wicked  creature  ;  but  she  was  good 
to  me  :  what  should  I  have  done  without  her?'  A  young  olii- 
cer  went  to  tlie  smokehouse  door  one  morning  for  no  other 
known  purpose  than  that  of  adding  to  her  distresses  by  attemp- 
ting to  ridicule  the  Americans  as  cowards,  swearing  that  they 
were  rebels  and  cowards,  and  would  not  dare  to  fight  his  ma- 
jesty's army.  The  pious  Lidy  said  to  him, '  wait  and  see  what 
the  Lord  will  do  for  us.'  Tlie  young  military  fop  replied,  '  By 
G-d,  if  he  intends  to  do  any  thing  it  is  time  he  had  begun  ;'  and, 
she  added,  in  giving  me  the  account,  before  Thursday  night  he 
saw  what  the  Lord  did."  The  fact  that  Cornwallis  attempted 
to  impose  on  Mrs.  Caldwell  by  passing  himself  for  Col.  Wash- 
ington is  recollected  by  the  surviving  members  of  her  family,  or 
by  some  of  them  ;  and  anoflier  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  oldest  pupils 
yet  living,  has  informed  me  that  the  Doctor  either  did  write  or 
talked  strongly  of  writing  to  his  lordship,  after  the  battle,  and 
remonstrating  with  him  for  this  ungentlemanly  conduct. 

The  family  of  Dr.  Caldwell  agree  almost  precisely  with  the 
above  account  of  Doct.  B.  as  far  as  it  goes,  except  that  they  do 
not  recollect  the  circumstance  of  their  mother  going  to  her  knees 
to  beg  for  bread ;  but  they  well  recollect  that  they  had  nothing 
to  subsist  on  during  the  whole  time  except  a  few  dried  apples  or 
peaches ;  and  they  recollect  another  fact  which  may  have  in- 
cluded the  one  above  mentioned  by  Dr.  B.  Unaccustomed  as  she 
was  to  the  profaneness  and  rude  conduct  of  soldiers,  she  applied 
for  protection  to  a  man,  who,  from  his  dress,  and  from  the  im- 
portance which  he  appeared  to  assume,  she  took  to  be  a  man  of 
some  rank  in  the  army ;  and  in  making  this  application,  she 
may  also  have  asked  for  something  to  eat ;  but  instead  of  treat- 
ing her  with  the  courtesy  which  was  due  to  a  lady  of  her  stand- 
ing, he  cursed  her,  and  told  her  he  did  not  know  what  right  she 
had  to  expect  any  favors ;  for  the  women  were  as  d — nd  rebels 
as  the  men.  She  then  applied  to  another,  who,  from  his  dress, 
his  deportment,  and  the  respect  which  was  paid  to  him,  she  sup- 
posed was  more  of  a  gentleman  ;  nor  was  she  in  this  case  disap- 
pointed. Having  informed  him  of  the  treatment  she  had  re- 
ceived, he  told  her  that  the  other  man  had  no  authority  what- 


~^i  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

ever  in  the  camp;  but  he  assured  her  that  if  she  would  let  him 
know  what  she  wanted,  it  should  be  done,  so  far  as  was  in  his 
I^ower.  She  told  him  that  she  wished,  in  the  first  place,  to  have 
a  guard  appointed  for  her  protection ;  in  the  next  place,  she 
wished  to  have  a  bed  for  herself  and  her  children  ;  and  finally, 
she  wished  that  some  two  or  three  articles  of  cooking  utensils, 
and  about  as  many  of  household  furniture,  all  of  which  she 
specified,  might  not  be  injured  nor  taken  away.  With  much 
urbanity  and  politeness,  he  told  her  it  should  be  done ;  and  it 
was  so  done  accordingly.  A  guard  was  soon  appointed,  with 
strict  injunctions  to  see'  that  the  woman  and  children  were  not 
molested.  A  bed,  with  the  furniture,  was  sent  off  immediately 
to  the  smokehouse ;  and-  when  the  army  removed,  the  articles 
of  household  and  kitchen  furniture  that  had  been  specified,  were 
left  uninjured.  He  who  acted  such  a  gentlemanly  part  on  this 
occasion,  was  the  principal  physician  of  the  army  ;  but  this  fact 
was  not  known  until  after  the  battle,  when  Dr.  Caldwell  had  an 
opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  him,  while  attending 
to  the  sick  and  wounded  ;  and  of  thanking  him  for  the  kindness 
lie  had  shown  to  his  wife  and  children.  To  us  it  is  pleasant  to 
find  one  bright  spot  in  a  picture  which -is  otherwise  so  dark ; 
and  to  him  it  must  have  been  a  source  of  no  small  gratification, 
to  know  that  among  tlie  hundreds  or  thousands  who  were  giv- 
ing every  demonstration  of  the  bitterest  hostility,  there  was  even 
one,  in  whose  bosom  tlie  principles  of  honor  and  humanity  were 
])redominant,  and  who  had  perhaps  shown  all  the  kindness  he 
could  in  the  station  which  he  occupied. 

We  always  feel  pained  for  the  honor  of  humanity,  as  we^l 
as  for  the  suffering  that  must  follow,  to  see  men  recklessly  de- 
stroying that  which  cannot  promote  the  cause  in  which  they  are 
engaged  ;  but  which  must  involve  the  helpless  and  the  unof- 
fending in  want  and  wretehednoss.  Such  was  the  conduct  of 
the  British  army  on  this  occasion;  and  so  complete  was  the 
destruction  made  of  every  thing  necessary,  not  only  to  their 
comfort,  but  even  to  their  subsistence,  tliat,  as  soon  as  they  left, 
the  family  of  Dr.  Caldwell  were  obliged  to  quarter  themselves 
on  the  neighbors,  until  some  provision  could  he  made  for  their 
support.     T\\v,  encampment  extended  entirely  across  the  planta- 


V. 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  22 .> 

tion,  and  over  a  part  of  two  others,  one  on  each  side,  and  the 
marks  of  it  are  still  visible.  Every  pannel  of  fence  on  the  prem- 
ises was  burned ;  every  particle  of  provisions  was  consumed  or 
carried  away  ;  every  living  thing  was  destroyed  except  one  old 
goose ;  and  nearly  every  square  rod  of  ground  was  penetrated 
with  tlieir  iron  ram  rods,  in  search  of  liidden  treasure.  Mr. 
Dunlap  had  shortly  before  brought  a  wagon  load  of  salt  from 
Petersburg,  which  was  a  most  valuable  article  in  those  tunes; 
but  of  that  they  destroyed  what  they  did  not  need. 

Perhaps  the  most  unprincipled  or  inexcusable  part  of  their 
onduct,  however,  was  the  destruction  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  library 
and  papers,  not  sparing  even  the  large  Bible  which' contained 
the  family  record.  This  was  neither  accidental  nor  unavoidable : 
It  was  not  done  by  ignorant  or  drunken  soldiers,  in  the  absence 
of  their  superiors,  or  when  too  much  enraged  to  admit  of  con- 
trol ;  but  by  the  officers  and  men  of  most  intelligence  in  the 
British  army  ;  for  it  was  done  by  the  direction  of  those  who  oc- 
cupied the  house ;  and  they  were  the  officers  and  medical  staff. 
AVhether  this  was  done  by  the  order  of  Cornwallis  himself,  was 
never  known  ;  or  if  it  was  known,  it  has  been  forgotten.  Al- 
though he  rode  up  there  at  first,  attempted  to  deceive  Mrs.  Cald- 
well, and  made  arrangements  for  the  army,  he  did  not  remain ; 
but  occupied  the  house  of  Mr.  McCuistin,  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  or  a  little  more,  to  the  east,  because  that  was  immediately 
on  the  public  road. leading  from  Martinville  to  Fayetteville ; 
yet,  as  the  main  body  of  the  army  was  encamped  on  Dr.  Cald- 
well's plantation,  the  officers  who  occupied  his  house  must  have 
been  of  a  high  rank.  It  was  done  too  with  as  much  cool  de- 
liberation as  Omar  gave  the  order  for  destroying  the  library  at 
Alexandria,  or  as  Amrou  had  it  executed ;  and  this  is  evident 
from  the  maimer  in  which  they  proceeded.  There  was  a  large 
brick  oven  in  the  yard,  a  few  steps  from  the  house,  which  was 
used  for  baking  bread ;  and  having  caused  a  fire  to  be  kindled 
in  that,  they  made  their  servants  carry  out  the  books  and  papers, 
an  armful  at  a  time,  and  throw  them  into  the  oven.  As  soon  as 
one  armful  was  burned,  another  was  thrown  in,  until  the  whole 
was  consumed  ;  and  the  oven  was  apparently  as  hot  as  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's furnace.     Some  of  the  family  still  have  a  distinct 


22i  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

rocoliection  of  seeing  the  men  at  work,  carrying  out  the  books 
and  throwmg  them  into  the  oven.  He  had  a  large  hbrary  for  the 
time  and  circumstances  of  the  country;  but  he  was  often  heard 
to  say  afterwards,  that  he  regretted  the  loss  of  iiis  papers  more 
than  any  thiug  else ;  for  they  included  pretty  much  all  he  had 
ever  written,  or  all  that  was  worth  preserving  :  his  college  exer- 
cises, his  trial  pieces  while  under  the  care  of  Presbytery  as  a 
candidate  for  the  ministry,  his  correspondence,  and  all  the  ser- 
mons, except  one,  that  he  had  ever  preached  since  he  entered 
the  ministry,  a  period  of  seventeen  years.  This  transaction  is 
thus  minutely  recorded,  not  to  excite  rancorous  feelings  against 
the  perpetrators  of  the  deed,  nor  undue  prejudices  against  the 
nation  to^vhich  they  belonged;  for  all  who  were  concerned  in  it, 
directly  or  indirectly,  have  long  since  gone  to  their  final  account ; 
but  as  a  matter  of  justice  to  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  and  to 
let  the  present  generation  know  what  their  ancestors  sacrificed 
and  suffered  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 

The  British,  while  they  remained  in  Guilford  county,  were 
continually  harassed  and  insulted,  either  by  the  neighbors,  or 
by  the  light  armed  parties  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Greene; 
and  a  number  of  incidents  occurred  which  were  quite  amusing, 
and  some  of  them  not  very  creditable  to  British  valor.  The 
following  extracts  from  the  communication  of  my  correspondent 
Dr.  B.,  will  be  read  with  interest.  "  When  his  lordship  was  en- 
camped at  Dr.  Caldwell's,  Thomas  Cummins,  an  old  Presbyte- 
rian bachelor,  being  at  the  house  of  his  friend  John  Larkin,  on 
the  Reedy  Fork,  and  wishing  to  know  how  his  friends  were  fa- 
ring on  the  Buffalo,  proposed  to  Larkin  that  they  should  go  and 
visit  them ;  and  on  they  went.  The  same  day  the  Buffalo 
neighborhood  was  visited  by  a  British  foraging  party,  escorted 
by  the  famous,  or  rather,  infamous  Col.  Tarleton  and  his  corps, 
attended  by  a  number  of  camp  followers,  or  plunderers.  This 
party  found  at  old  Mr.  Denny's  the  objects  which  they  were 
seeking,  such  as  oats,  straw,  &c.;  and  whilst  the  wagons  were 
being  loaded,  and  the  camp  followers  were  pillaghig,  the  Col.  en- 
tered the  house  to  amuse  himself  by  ridiculing  the  rebels  and 
boasting  of  British  prowess,  when  suddenly  an  orderly  came  in 
and  M-hispcrcd  the  Colonel,  who  changed  color,  and,  without  say- 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  220 

ing  good  bye,  hastened  out,  mounted  his  hoi'se,  and  Hed  with 
his  whole  corps^  wagons  and  camp  followers,  helter  skelter, 
smive  qui pitet ;  but  by  the  time  they  amved  at  the  road  lead- 
ing by  Buffalo  meeting  house,  the  panic  of  the  pillagers  began 
to  subside,  no  one  having  been  knocked  on  the  head,  A  widow 
Anderson,  whose  house  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road 
from  that  of  her  father,  Mr.  Denny,  observed  that  the  pillagers 
were  taking  a  direction  towards  her  bouse.  :  At  that  time  there 
was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Buffalo  creek,  a  ridge  covered 
with  lofty  tmibers;  and  Mrs,  Anderson  waved  her  hand  as  if 
giving  a  signal  to  some  persons  concealed  in  those  timbers, — 
Tlie  route  commenced  again  with. cries  and  screams;  and  they 
were  more  frightened  than  ever ;  for  by  this  time  the  colonel 
and  his  men  were  far  on  their  way  to  head  quarters,  where  th6 
wagons  arrived  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  having  strewed  the 
road  with  oats  and  stratv.  N&w  the  prime  cause  of  this  panic 
was  that  some  one  of  the  party  had  discovered  two  heads  over 
the  fence  on  the  opposite  part  of  Mr,  Denny's  plantation.  The 
two  heads  were  those  of  Thomas  Cummins  and  John  Larking 
who  soon  after  entered  Mr,  Denny's  house — Johnny  looking  a 
little  wild. 

"  No  one  at  the  present  time  can  in^agine  the  daring  of  th^ 
whigs  of  that  day.  Dillon's  mill  was  about  a  mile  from  the  head 
quarters  of  the  British  army ;  and  some  soldiers  being  stationed 
at  the  mill  for  the  purpose  of  grinding  corn,  it  was  determined  to 
surprise  them,  A  captain's  company  was  detailed  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  and  Robert  Anderson,  a  son  of  John  Anderson,  long  an 
elder  of  Buffalo  congregation,  was  the  person  who  acted  as  pilot. 
He  was  conducting  them  over  the  creek  about  seventy  yards 
below  the  mill,  v/hen  a  sentinel  fired  on  them  ;  and  the  party  at 
the  mill  instantly  took  the  alarm,  and  fled.  However,  they  were 
fired  on  at  random ;  and  Mrs.  McCuistin  told  me  that  a  woun- 
ded British  soldier  was  that  night  brought  to  her  house,"  which 
was  then  occupied  by  Cornwalhs,  "  and  was  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  Dr.  Caldwell's,  Robert  Anderson  was  much  sur- 
prised at  the  profanity  of  a  soldier  in  the  company  which  he  pi- 
loted :  The  poor  fellow  had,  by  some  means,  procured  a  canteen 
of  spirits,  through  which  the  ball  fired  by  the  sentinel,  passed;' 
29 


y'^b  LTFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

and  this  caused  him  to  utter  a  volley  ofcurs.es  ;  but  none  of  the 
party  were  injured,  e:j^cept  the  one  who  lost  his  whiskey. — A 
Mrs.  McClane  hved^  one  or  two  hundi-^d  yards  below  the  mill, 
whose  house  bad  been  so  often  phuidered,  that,  she  said,  there 
w^as  nothing  more  in  or  about  it,  as  she  thought,  to  be  plundered ; 
but  one  day  two  very  insolent  BrUisli  soldiers  entered  the  house, 
and  were  very  busily  engaged  in  searching  it,  when  she  observed 
theni  assume  a  very  humble  position,  pull  •oil  their  hats,  and  cry 
quarters,  quarters.  Oii  Poking  -towards  the  door,  there  sat  on 
their  horses,  a  'squire  Bi;own  whom  she  knew,  and  an  'officer 
\vhoin  she  did  not  know,  with  presented  rifles.  They  instantly 
wheeled  their  horses  round,  and  directed  the  pris'oners  to  leap 
on  behind  them.  As  they  rode  off  a  sentinel,  placed  at  the  barn, 
about  70  yards  from  the  house,  fired  at  tliem;  but  without  ef- 
fect, in  a  few  minutes,  Tarleton,  with  his  whole  corps,  came 
Oil ;  and  having  ascertained  what  had  occurred,  he  bestowed 
many  cursqs-  on.  IVIrs.  McClane,  swearing  that  if  such  a  thing 
occurred  agahi,  he  would  burn  the  house  witkher  in  it.'' — Other 
ineidentsof  a  similar  kind  might  be  related  ;*  but  these,  attested 
as  thpy  are  by  other  persons  iii  this  neighborhood,  are  sufficient 
to  shew  the  spirit  of  the  whigs  in  this  region,  the  condtict  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  state  of  things  generally,  at  that  time. 

The  British  army  after  xemaiiiing  two  days  and  nights  on  Dr. 
Caldwell's  plantation,  left  it  a  scen^  of  desolation;  and  remov- 
ed into  the  Quaker  settlement  on  De6p  river  ;  but  they  were  not 
permitted  tb  depart  in, peace.  Col.  Lee  and  his  corps  were 
watching  theii"  movements;  and  ready  to  pounce  upon  them, 

*  While  the  British  ky  in  this  neisrhborhood  they  had  a  niinryber  of  prison- 
ers wiioin  tliey  liad  picked  up  over  the  country,  as  it  was  their  practice  to 
make  a  prisoner  o'l' every  whig  they  conid  b.itch  ;  and  ammio:  them  was  a  nian 
by  ttio  riame  of  .fatnes  Archer.  He  lived  in  tlje  vicinity  of  iVIarlinvillo  ;  and 
\\as  an  indv-pendent,  broad  montlied,  roiiijii  spoken  sort  of  a  man,  who  gener- 
ally said  what  lie  pleased  and  where  he  plea«xi.  When  the  army  encamped 
the  prisoners  were,put  info  a  high  pen  of  rails  with  a  miard  '-tntioiicd  round  it 
lo  pre.vehl  tiieii:  escape;  anicf  this  enclosure  'was  called  tlie  hull  ptn.  Archer 
was  by  no  me.invS  pleased  with  his  apconinrodalioiis;  but  he  was  obliged  to 
pot  up  witii  them.  One  rnornmg  very  early,  Tarleton  came  up,  and,  with  an 
air  ot  haughtiness  and  contempt,  called  out,  "  Well,  how  do  you  all  do  in  the 
hull  pen  this  morning'!".  '-Itiiank  you,"  said  Archer,  "u  little  better  than  ijoudkl 
at  the  Cowj)f!i.'yi"— If  is  said  that  Tarleton  hi^d  the  meanness  to  make  one  ot 
Jiis  iiien  go  in  and  chastise  him  for  his  insolence  ;  and  it  was  pefrfecfly  in  char- 
acter for  him,  or -we  might  hope  tliat  this  part  was  an  addition  to  the  story. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  '>.'27 

whenever  a  favorable  opportunity  was  presented,  like  a  squad 
of  flying  Scythians.  The  services  of  that  man  seem  , never  to 
have  been  fully  known,  nor  duly  appreciated.  "  He  was  now 
in  the  very  element  of  his  talents.  Better  scope  for  the  exercise 
of  his  partisan  powers  could  not  be  coveted  ;  and  we  find  him 
every  hour  meditating  or  executing  some  new  exploit.  On  the 
right,  on  the  left,  in  therear  of  the  enemy,  wherever  servipe 
could  be  performed  or  intelHgence  collected,  we  find  him  contin- 
ually occupied,  and  forever  changing  his  positions  to  guard 
against  surprise."  While  in  this  county  he  made  some  narrow 
escapes  ;  displayed  great  ,tact  and  vigilance  as  well  as  bravery  ;*■ 
and  often  made  the  eneniiy  feel  the  power  of  his  sword  when  it 
was  least  expected.  Accbrding  to  the  tradition  of  th6  ueiglihor- 
hood,  he  a-ttapked  the  rear  of  the  British  army,  or  some  part  of 
it,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  it  left  Dr.  Caldwell's 
premises,  while  on   its  way  to  Deep  river,  about  a  mile  south- 

*  The  foilowinsr  account  of  a  small  rRncounter,  which  is  beliovcd  to  be 
from  (jnofi  n.ulhoritv,  will  probably  have  some  mterost  to  the  rcvnJer,  wjnle  it 
serves:  to  iliuistrate  thf  charatter  of  the  indiviiluai  who  is  the  principal  subject 
of  it,  and  furnishes  additional  evidence  of  the  casualties  and  iiardships  att>?nd- 
am  01)  a  military  life. — Tlie  precise  dale  is  not  recollected;  but  while  the  Bri- 
tish army  was  in  Dr.  Caldwell's  congreoations,  or  after  it  removed  to  Deep 
river,  Col.  Lee  with  about  fi'ty  or  sixty  of  his  men,  CHlled  oneday  about  noon 
at  the  house  of  a  Mr  Bruce,  who  lived  in  the  north  side  of  this  eouiity,  at  the 
crass-roads  which  still  bear  his  iVame,  'o  get  their  breiikfast  and  their  horses 
fed.  as  neither  of  them  had  eiten  any  thing  that  day.  Bruce  was  a  good  whig 
and  made  them  welcotne  to  whatever  lie  had.  WluJe  they  were  r (^gnled  with 
the  sujpll  of  frying  meat,  egss.  &c,  and  were  almost  ready  to  sit  down  to  the 
much  needed  repast,  a  man  who  lived  in  the  neiglibnrhood,  by  the  name  of 
Isaac  Wright,  can)e  up  at  full  .-peed  on  a  little  "flea-bitten"  fwny ;  and  told 
them  that,  as  he  was  returning  frurrt  mill,  he  saw  a  party  of 'i'arteton's  drag- 
goons  only  a  short  distance  up  the  road.  Lee  immediately  said  to  his  men, 
"Gentlemen  you  cannoj  eat  until  you  ascertain  the  truth  of  this  report;"  and 
a  lieutenant  was  prumptiy  ordered  to  take  "J")  or  30  men  and  see  about  it. — 
Wright  made  a  move  then  to  go  on  home;  but  Lee  told  him  that  he  was  in 
custody  and  could  not  leave  until  they  ascertained  whether  he  had  told  the 
truth  or  not  ;  and  tliat  he  n^iiist  .go  along  ds  a  pilot.  He  replied  that  he  would 
have  no  objections,  if  he  had  a  good  horsf' ;  but  that  he  was  unwilling  to  ven- 
ture on  the  pony.-  After  a  little  consultation,  it  was  agreed  tiiat  he  .should 
take  the  trumpeter's- horse,  which  was  very  fleet;  and,  tiius  mounted,  away 
they  went ;  but  the  trumpeter  concl'ude'd  lie  Rad  better  go  along  on  the  pony 
to  set  that  VVrtLrht  did  nor  escip.-  with  his  horse.  After  going  tnore  than  the 
distance  at  which  Wright  supposed  ho  had  seen  the- enemy,  they  began  to 
conclude  that  lie  was  deceiving  them — a  conclusion  vvhie!)  was  natural  for 
them  to  draw  in  their  circumstances ;  and  the  ofTicpr  in  command,  not  only 
refused  to  go  any  farther,  but  proposed  ticking  tlie  pilot  back  to  answer  for  his 
conduct.     He  assured  them  however  that  although  he  might  have  been  mis- 


228  LIFE  OK  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

east 'from  New  Garden  meeting  house;  and  it  is  said  that  two 
of  the 'enemy  ,with  a  number  of  horses  were  killed  on  the  spot. 
One  of  Lee's  men  was  mortally  wounded  and  died  in  the  neigh- 
borhood a  few  days  after;  but  how  many  more  were  wounded 
on  either  side  is  not  known. 

From  the  middle  of  February  until  long  affer  the  Guilford 
battle  the  condition  of  this  country  was  deplorable  ;  for  it  was 
harassed  by  domestic  as  well  as  foreign  enemies ;  and  the  for- 
mer probably  did  more  injury  than  the  latter,  shewing  little  or 
no  respect  to  age  or  sex,  official  dignity,  hterary  character  or 
moral  worth.  Soon  after  the  British  army  passed  through  this 
county  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Greene,  and  about  the  time  that  the 
tories  took  Dr.  Caldwell  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house, — probably, 
though  no  dates  are  recollected, — ^^they  made-  a  similar  attempt 
on  the  Rev.  William  Campbell,  who  had  settled  in  Haw  river 
congregation,  in    1776.     He  escaped   himself  by  not   being  at 

taken  in  the  distance,  as  he  was  snmewhat  frightened,  he  had  made  no  false 
report;  and  that  iflhey  would  only  accompany  him  a  little  farliier  he  would 
convince  them  of  the  fact.  'I'he  trumpeter  w;fh  two  others  agreed  tosfoaioni,'-, 
leaving  the  rest  behinc^;  but  they  had  not  jone  over  half  an)ile  until  they  es- 
pied the  enemy,- and  we're  within  a  short  distance  before  they  perceived  their 
danger.  Instantly  the  retreat  and  the  pursuit  were  commenced.  Wright 
and  the  other  two  had  nothing  to  fear;  but  the  poor  trumpeter,  though  plying 
his  spurs  with  alUns  niig'ir^  and  u.sing  his  cap  a^^  anauxilnry  incentive  to  the 
pony,  soon  found  himseit  in  a  bad  box ;  tor  the  enemy  were  gaining  on  him 
rapidly  at  ^very  juvip.  When  he  (■)uiid  they  were  drawing  near  he  began  to 
cry  out,  '•  {[jiarterri,  quarters  ;"  but  tiie  reply  was,  "d — mn  yon,  we'll  quarter 
you."  V\''ith  the  next  breatJi  they  were  slashisig  away  on  him  vvitn  llieir 
swords;  and  they  literally  cut  mm  to  pieces  tiiere  while  begging  for  his  life. 
By  this  time  Wright  and  the  two  who  weie  with  him  had  warned  the  party 
which  they  left  behind  ;  and  they  were  on  the  foe  before  they  had  (juite  finish- 
ed their  vicim.  It  was  too  late  to  savM  his  ide;  but  a  sharp  conflict  ensued; 
and  seven  of  the  British  fell  a  sacnlice  to  their  resentment,  hi  the  American 
party  wa.«  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  John>-on.  afterwards  Judge  Johnson, 
of  .-Vbingdon  in  Virginia,  who  (niciUUered  on-^  of  the  enemy  ;  and  escaped 
with  his  life,bv  an  occurrence  quite  remarkable,  though  not  altogether  unheard 
of  While  engau-ed  in  th.e  sword'  exercise,  cutting  and  defen  :ing,  the  dra- 
goon got  his  toot  under  that  of  Jolin.^un  and  gave  him  a  tilt,  which  threw  him 
into  a  very  fvir  position  to  receive  liie  sword  ot  his  antaguni-t,  fje  saw  (hat 
sword  drawn  al.  arm's  length  and  gleaming  in  the  air  ready  to  descend,  or,  as 
he  thought,  in  the  act  of  descending  upon  him.  At  that  instant  lie  tlelt  some- 
thing warm  and  moist  come,  like  a  fli-^li,  on  the  side  ot  his  face;  and  having 
instanllv  uiid  instinctively  applied  his  hand  to  his  face,  on  tak'ug  it  away,  fouhd 
it  covered  with  bhod  and  brains.  The  first  thought  tliat  darted  through  his 
mind,  vvith  electric  quickness,  was,  could  they  be  his  own!  but  with  the  next 
glance  of  his  eye  he  saw  that  they  were  those  of  his  adversary.  A  coiiirade, 
not  far  oil,  perceiving  his  situation,  dashed   up  at  the  critical  moment,  and 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  229 

home  ;  but  they  broke  open  and  plundered  liis  house,  as  I  have 
been  informed  by  a  wortliy  old  elder  of  that  cluirch  ;  destroyed 
his  books  and  papers  ;  and  he  soon  after  left  that  part  of  tlie 
country. 

It  has  been  seen  that,  for  some  days  before  the  British  came 
into  his  congregations,  Dr.  Caldwell  had  been  with  the  Ameri- 
can army,  or  under  its  protection.  On  the  1 4th,  when  the  army 
left  the  encampment  on  the  north  side  of  Troublesome  creek, 
near  the  iron  works,  and  came  down  to  the  court  house  for  the 
purposeof  giving  the  enemy  battle,  he  remained  in  the  neigh- 
borhood ;  and  went  for  lodging  in  the  evening  to  the  house  of  a 
Mr.  McBride,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  The  latter  was 
a  decided  whig ;  but  not  having  as  much  nerve  as  some  other 
men,  he  intimated  to  the  Doctor  that  he  was  afraid  to  let  him 
lodge  in  his  house,  lest  the  tories,  who,  it  was  known,  had  been 
endeavoring  to  get  him  in  their  power,  should  come,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  army,  and  murder  them  altogether,  or  burn  up  his 
possessions.  Dr.  Caldwell,  who  was  not  easily  alarmed  at  any 
time,  or  under  any  circumstances,  and  whose  confidence  in  the 
care  of  divine  Providence  had  probably  been  increased  by  the 
deliverances  which  he  had  for  some  time  past  experienced,  felt 
a  little  piqued,  not  at  the  want  of  hospitaUty  so  much  as  the 
want  of  firmness  in  his  friend  ;  and  told  him  that  he  would  not 
stay  in  his  house,  but  go  to  the  woods,     McBride  did  not  ob- 

struck  the  dragoon  with  his  sword  just  above  the  ear,  nearly  severing  the  up- 
per part  ot  the  head  from  the  lower. — The  British,  finding- themselves  over- 
powered, began  to  retreat;  and  the  Americans  dire  not  tijli  iw  them;  tor 
Tarlelon  with  his  whole  force  was  not  tar  behind ;  but  they  returned  to  Bruce's 
with  all  expedition,  having  slain  seven  of  the  enemy  and  lost  only  one  man. 
As  Lee  had  only  a  part  of  his  men  with  him.  he  could  not  meet  his  adversary 
in  full  ibrce;  and  therefore,  without  waiting  to  satisry  the  cravings  of  hunger, 
they  immediately  took  up  the  line  of  march,  and  accompanied  by  the  family 
ot  Bruce,  went  over  liaw  river  before  they  halted.  Tarleton  occupied  the 
house  that  niufht ;  and,  having  destroyed  every  thing  he  could,  left  the  prem- 
ises next  morninir  a  scene  of  desolation. 

The  above  facts  were  communicated  to  the  writer  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Ta- 
tum,  art  intelligent  and  respectable  minister  of  the  Baptist  ('enomination,  who 
has  long  resided  on  the  plantation  on  which  they  occurred.  Some  yenra  ago. 
Judge  Johnson,  when  on  his  way  to  meet  the  Supreme  t'ourt  in  Richmond, 
having  been,  by  a  little  accident,  detained  for  a  day  or  two  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Tatum,  went  out  to  view  the  scene  of  his  former  perils  and  conflicts, 
which  wasat  the  end  ol  the  lane;  and  gave  him,  vvUh  two  or  three  of  his 
neighbors,  a  minute  account  of  the  whole  transaction. 


23Q  LIFE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  ».D. 

joct ;  but  was  polite  enough  to  go  with  him ;  and  they  both  took 
their  lodgings  that  night  an  one  side  of  his  plantation  in  the  low 
gronnds  of  the  creek.  His  anxiety  led  him  down  next  day  to 
McCuistin's  bridge  on  the  Reedy  Fork,  a  distance  of  12  or  14 
miles,  and  only  one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  scene  of  action. — 
Before  lie  got  to  tlie  bridge,  however,  he  met  a  number  of  men 
running  for  life,  who  gave  him  a  most  doleful  account ;  and,  as 
they  run,  advised!  him  to  fly  as  fast  as  lie  could,  or  the  British 
would  be  on  him;  for  all  was  lost;  but  he  knew  too  well  the 
character  of  raw  militia,  as  they  were,  to  put  any  dependence 
in  what  they  said,  especially'  in  their  circumstances;  for  they 
were  not  in  a  state  of  mind  either  to  know  or  tell  the  truth.— 
He  still  went  on,  though  with  inore  anxiety,  if  possible,  than 
ever;  and  occasionally  meetijig  with  others  who  were  retreat- 
ing ;  but  the  farther  he  went  the  more  favorable  the  accounts 
became. 

'  Having  remained  about  the  bridge  until  he  knew  the  result, 
he  returned  in  the  evening  to  McBride's  ;  and  they  both  repair- 
ed to  the  place  of  their  former  lodgings  in  the  low  grounds  of 
Troublesome  creek.  In 'the  course  of  the  night,  McBride,  wak- 
ing up,  saw  an  unusual  light,  and,  on  looking  towards  his  house, 
found  that  it  was  not  only -in  that  direction,  but  that  it  seemed 
to  extend  over  a  considerable  space.  With  much  agitation,  he 
waked  up  his  companion,  and  said  to  him.  Look  yonder !  The 
tories  are  bm-ning  up  every  thing  I  have.  Although  the  night 
was  cloudy  and  very  dark,  the  Doctor,  without  saying  much, 
set  olf  alone  ;  and  made  his  way  through  the  woods  until  he  got 
near  enough  to  hear  the  men  talking  and  to  satisfy  himself  that 
they  were  not  tories,bu.ta  portion  either  of  the  British  or  of  the 
American  army.  He  also  satisfied  hiniseif  that  they  were  mak-. 
ing  no  , destruction  of  property  ;  but  further  than  this  he  could 
not  go  without  the  risk  of  being  discovered  and  fired  on  by 
some  of  the  sentinels.  ,  He  returned  therefore,  and  ti)ld  McBride 
what  he  had  discovered,  adding  that  they  must  be  Americans; 
for  he  heard  no'  German,  or  different  languages  spoken,  as  he 
would  have  done,  if  it  were  the  British  army.  On  going  up  to 
the  house  in  the  morning  they  found  that  it  was  Col.  Washing- 
Ion  and  his  men,  who,  having  ai'rived  there  at  a  late  hour  of  the 


LIFE  CP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  2.  A 

night,  had  pitched  their  camps  and  kindled  their  fires  in  ditlo- 
rent  places  about  the  premises  as  they  found  Convenient.  This 
v/as  gratifying,  but  unexpected  ;  for  although  they  were  proba- 
bly aware  of  the  flict  that  Greene  had  previously  appointed  the 
place  of  his  former  encampment  by  tlie  iron  works  as  the  place  ol' 
rendezvous  after  the  battle,  it  was  two  or  three  miles  distant;  and 
fherefore  McBride's  first  conclusion  was  as  natural  as  any  other. 
It  is  believed,  though  not  distinctly  recollected,  that  Dr.  Cald- 
well came  down  to'  Martin ville  the  day  after  the  battle,  probably 
at  tlie  request  of  Gen.  Greene  and  under  the  protection  of  ins 
flag,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  to  bury  the  dead,  or  of  attend- 
ing to  the  sick  and  wounded.  His  family  recollect  to  have 
heard  him  frequently  state  that  in  Mr.  McNairy's  house  which 
was  one  of  those  used  as  a  hospital,  tliey  cut  otf  legs,  and  arms 
and  threw  them  into  a  cart  at  the  door  until  it  was  pretty  well 
loaded;  and  then  they  were  taken  away  and  buried.  He  did 
not  return  to  his  house  for  two  or  three  days  ;  and  he  would 
have  run  considerable  risk  in  doing  so.  Besides,  Mrs.  Caldwell 
and  her  seven  children,  the  whole  number  which  she  then  had 
living,  were  not  at  home,  having  been  obliged  to  disperse  over 
the  congregafion  and  live  upon  the  neighbors ;  but  his  atten- 
dance at  tiie  hospitals,  both  as  a  minister  and  as  a  physician,  was 
no  doubt  desirable  on  many  accounts.  Gen.  Greene  'was  ma- 
king every  effort  to  have  his  army  in  the  best.possible  condition 
for  service ;  but  as  it  was  his  purpose  to  march  in  pursuit  of  his 
adversary  before  the  sick  and  wounded  could  recover,  and  as  it 
was  important  in  his  situation  and  with  his  prospects  to  have  the 
physicians  of  the  army  along,  it  became  desirable. that  there 
should  be  some  one  acquainted  with  their  circumstances  under 
whose  care  they  could  be  left.  Moreover,  while  many  of  them 
were  his  friends  or  personel  acquaintances,  and  therefore  his  at- 
tendance would  be  grateful  to  them,  his  feeUngs  of  friendship, 
patriotism,  and  humanity,  would  have  prompted  him  to  do  what- 
ever he  could  to  wards  alleviating  the  sufrerings,and  administering 
to  the  consolation  of  those  who  iiad  been  shedding  their  blood 
in  the  cause  of  freedom  ;  and  to  do  it  without  any  other  recom- 
pence  than  the  gratification  which  the  mere  rendering  of  such 
servicers  would  impart. 


'Zo-Z  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

To  those  who  intelhgently  and  cordially  acknowlege  an  over- 
rulmg  Providence,  prayer  is  hoth  natural  and  proper ;  nor  will 
It  ever  be  neglected  by  such,  when  engaged  in  a  cause  which 
they  believe  to  be  a  righteous  one,  or  when  great  and  important 
interests  are  at  stake.  On  the  day  of  the  battle  Mrs,  Caldwell 
and  a  number  of  old  ladies  belonging  to  the  Buffalo  congregation 
met  at  the  house  of  Robert  Rankin  and  spent  the  greater  part 
of  the  day  in  prayer.  A  large  number  of  pious  females  in  the 
Alamance  were  engaged  in  the.  same  way  at  the  house  of  one  of 
the  elders;  and  how  far  the  deliverance  of  the  country  from  a 
powerful  and' implacable  foe,  as  the  result  of  that  day's  conflict, 
was  in  answer  to  prayer,  can  be  ascertained  only  in  another 
world.    ' 

Many  in  the  Bulfalo  congregation  were  at  this  time  down 
with  the  small  pox,  the  infection  having  been  caught  from  the 
British  army  by  a  prisoner  a  few  v/eeks  before  ;  and  was  thus 
unintentionally  brought  into  the  neighborhood.  A  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Rankin,  who  had  an  extensive  connexion  and 
was  much  esteemed,  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  Ramsour's  mill; 
and  after  a  few  days  made  his  escape.  He  was  very  sick  on  his 
way  home ;  but  as  the  eruption  had  not  taken  place,  he  was  not  a- 
ware  of  his  situation.  His  death  was  the  consequence;  but  his 
friends  and  acquaintances,  not  knowing  what  was  the  matter, 
flocked  to  see  him  ;  and  thus  the  disease  was  at  once  spread  over 
the  whole  congregation.  This  was  unfortunate  on  many  ac- 
counts; but  all  the  men  in  both  these  congregations  who  were 
fit  for  duty  were  either  in  the  battle  or  employed  in  some  way 
under  the  direction  of  Gen.  Greene.  Maj.  John  Donnell,  who 
was  then  a  captain,  and  a  member  of  the  Buffalo  church,  was  a 
man  of  great  respectability  and  moral  worth,  a  staunch  whig  and 
an  enterprising  officer.  Having  embarked  in  the  cause  with 
zeal  frorti  the  first  he  had  been  much  employed  in  the  service  of 
his  country.  He  served  a  six  motuhs  campaign  mostly  in  Geor- 
gia, on  the  Savajmah  river ;  and  had  been  ever  prompt  to  ren- 
der his  country  any  services  in  his  power.  He  was  not  in  the 
battle  at  Martinville,  because  he  and  his  company,  or  such  of 
them  as  were  fit  for  duty,  had  been  apppinted  by  Gen.  Greene 
on  another  service.     Col.  John  Paisley,  father  of  the  Rev.  Will- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWKhL,  D.I).  J.;.. 

iara  D.  Paisley,  was  a  i)atriot  as  well  as  a  diristian  ;  a,iidhadaU 
along  taken  an  active  part  in  the  service  ofliis  couiitryiv.  H,e  was 
present  at  the  battle  with  tlie  men  under  hiscommandj'.aod  was 
directed  tooccnpy  an  eminence  to  the  south,  for  the  purpose  -qf 
observiiig-tlie  movements  of  the  enemy  and  coinnnniicating  ili- 
ligeiice.,  Capt.  John  Forbis*  who  lived  on  the  Alamance,  ,\|r£ts 
there  witU  a  compa,i^y  of  volunteers,  the  Allisons,  the  Kerr^, 
tlie.  Paisleys,  the  Wileys,  and  others,  most  of  wliom  , were' his 
neighbors  and  belonsed  to  the  company  of  which  he  was'cap- 
tain  ;  and  a  braver  band  of  "militia,  was.  not  on  tlie  ground.^- 
They  were  placed  in  the  frojit,  ranl?j'  stood  firm,  and  fired  the 
number  of  times  prescribed  in  .the  general  order.  Forbis  hnnself 
fired  the  first  gun  in  thgit  divisiQfi';,and  killed;  his  man  ;  for  he 
took  deliberate  aim.  with  his  rifle  at  a  British  captain  wlio  was 
seen  to  fall.  He  was  mortally  wounded  hiaiself,  and  died  a  few  ' 
days  after.  Several  of  his  men  were  also  wounded,  of  whom 
William  Paisley,  father  of  the  Rev.  Sam.uel  Paisley,  v\-as  one  : 
but  none  of  them  morlally.  . 

A  number  of  individuals  in  theiluffalo  congregation  voiiu> 
teercd  that  morning  and  put  themselves  under  officers  of  known 
valnr,  most!}?  under  Col.  Campbell.  Dr.  B.  says,  "Many  Guil- 
ford volunteers  were  in  the  battle  at  the  court  house  ;  and- 1  have 
frequently  heard  the  bravery  of  two  very  youi'ig  men  on  that 
day  spoken  of  The  men  were  John  Rankin  and  John  Allison. 
A  nnmber  were  assembled  m  the  morning  at  the  house  of  Alli- 
son's father,  mostly  females  and  old  men.  Allison's  house  was 
about  two  miles  to  the  left  of  Greene's  army;  and  when  the 
big  guns  began  to  fire,  these  'VouDg  men  sprang  to  their  rifles. 
The  females,  divining  their  intention,  laid  hold  on  them ;  and, 


*Itissaid  tint  a  certain  colonel  vvlio  was  Ijolieved  lo  have  no  nartialiiy  for 
powder  and  lead,  excu.sed  liini.-'elt'  that  niorning  on  the  jrromjd  Ihit  lie  m]i?i 
see  to  the  commissary  department,  or  something  else  than  ri;:h.t'iiijr ;  and  pnt 
Forbis  in  his  place.  His  men  remolis-traiod  with  hi'm  at  tiio  lime,  hut  he 
cursed  them,  and  told  them  that  Forbis  was  a  brave  noan  ar^l.,\V!piiid  do  *t11 
en'ongh.  Perhaps  tliere  was  no  more  tru.t;li'm.t_his  report  lh;p'";iin-;t,!)other  ofa 
similar  kind  respectiriff  a  certain  <3iher  officer  of  a  hijjlier'^'r;^(j|p,*iVhose  /iorsp 
got  a  very  bad  character  for  always  rnnninu'  away  wiihhi.'',viT!er  aVlltc  begin- 
Jiini^  of  an  enirirrpment ;  bat  however  this  m.iy'have  been,'  Forbis,  in  conse- 
quence of  that  appointment,  or  supposed  appoiidmcnt,  has  ever  since  liad  the 
title  ot  colonel  conferred  upon  him  by  his  country  men. 


234  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

crying  and  shrieking,  begged  them  not  to  go ;  but  they  freed 
themselves  from  the  liold  of  their  friends,  and  ran  to  join  their 
companions.  They  fell  in  with  Col.  Campbell's  mountaineers, 
and  fought  with  them  until  they  retreated,  after  which  they  were 
fired  at  by  a  company  of  British  regulars  ;  but  escaped  unhurt. 
Thomas  Cummins,"  who  has  been  ah-eady  mentioned,  "  was 
also  a  volunteer  on  that  day.  It  is  said  that  fighting  is  hot  work  ; 
but  be  that  as  it  may,  when  the  retreat  commenced,  the  said 
Thomas,  being  wrapt  in  his  l^lanket,  became  very  warm  ;  and 
as  he  passed  the,  jail  stuck  it  tti  a  crack,  not  doubting  but  that 
he  would  return  again  in  a  few  minutes.  It  is  said  he  became 
quite  wrathy  when  he  found  that  the  retreat  would  be  continued 
and  that  he  must  lose  his.  blanket."  This  Thomas  Cymmms 
was  a  man  of  some  eccentricity ;  but  was  regarded  as  a  very 
sincere  and  devout  christian ;  and  he  fought  with  composure 
and  fearlessness,  because  he  was  engaged,  as  he  believed,  m  a 
good  cauee.  On  my  first  visit  to.  the  battle  ground  I  was  ac- 
companied by- Robert  .Rankin,  whose  bravery  on  that  occasion 
is  well  atteated,  and. who,  although  just  recovering  from  the 
small  pox,  went  from  his  home  that  morning,  and  fell  in  with 
Campbell's  mountaineers.  Having  taken  me  to  a  tree  wluch 
he  had  used  as  a  bulwark,  and  from  behind  which  he  fired  two 
or  three  times^  •even-after  most  of  the  division  had  retreated,  he 
observed  that  just  before  the  retreat  commenced,  this  same  old 
Cummins  jiassed  by  him  at  a  "  dog  trot,"  sat  down  on  a  log  a  few 
steps  beyond,  and,  taking  out  a  luncheon  of  bread,  began  to 
craunch  it,*  when  a  ball  came  whizzing  by  his  head,  and  so 
close  as  to  brush  his  hair.  He  instantly  started  to  his  feet,  coolly 
observed  that  he  niight  as  well  die  fighting  as  eating,  and  set  olf 
at  the  same  gait  to  occupy  his  post  again.  John  Larkin  who 
lived  about  three  miles  from  the  battle  ground,  went  up  that 
morning  and  put  himself  under  Capt.  Kirkwood  who  has  been 
called  the  American  Dio'med,  .  When  he  went'  to  the  Captain 
and  asked  him'if  he  might  fall  In  with  his  companyjhe  told  him, 
certainly.  He  sioon  asked  again,  if  he  niight  take  a  tree;  and 
received  the  same  answer;  for,  as  Kirkwood  remarked  aftpr- 

*  In  speaking  of  this  af^jrwardshe  said  "he  !;,'-ot  very  hungry ;  and  he  lliought 
,it  would  do  him  <{ood  to  cat  a  bite,'" 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL',  D.D.  ii35 

afterwards,  he  put  no  confidence  in  him,  and  expected  to  sec 
him  run  at  the  first  fire,  or  as  soon  as  tlie  enemy  appeared  hi 
sight,  but  was  agreeably  disappointed.  The  men  were  ordered 
not  to  fire  until  tlie  enemy, came  within  60  steps;  and  Larkhi 
waited  very  patiently  until  they  had  approached  nearly  within 
that  distance.  Then  turning  to  tlie  captain,  asked  him  if  he 
might  fire ;  and  oh  being  answered  in  the  afFormative,  he  pulled 
away  with  his  rifle,  and  a  red  coat  fell.  As  Kirkwood  related 
afterwards,  he  fought  with  as  much  bravery  as  any  of  his  men, 
until  the  retreat  was  ordered,  when  he  returned  home,  and  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  the  same  neighborhood  for  a  number  of  years. 
Other  names  miglit  be  mentioned  withnearjy  equal  commenda- 
tion ;  but  my  limits  will  not  permit..  It  is  ho[)ed  that  the  reader 
will  excuse  this  notice  of  individuals,  or  this  detail  of  personal 
incidents  ;  and  for  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  the  battle 
havuig  been  fought  in  one  side  of  the  Buffalo  congregation,  and 
within  t\yo  or  tliree  milps  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  lioiise,  it  was  almost 
unavoidable.  In  the  next  place,  as  the  great  body  of  the  North 
Carolina  /pilitia  acted  such  a  cowardly  and  disgraceful  part  on 
that  day.^aH  who  have  any  regard  for  the  honor  of  the  State, 
will  feel  gratified  to  know  that  there  were  many  honorable  ex- 
ceptions— men  who  voluntarily  shed  their  blood  there  in  the 
cause  of  freedom;  and  whose  prowess  was  severely  felt  by  the 
enemy.  y 

Every  one  who  has  read  Johnson's  Life  of  Greene  has  no 
doubt  felt  a  little  surprised  that  the' loss  of  the  British  should  be 
so  much  greater  than  that  of  the  American  army  ;  and  he  has 
perhaps  felt  at  a  loss  to  account  for  it  on  the  supposition  that 
the  North  Carolinians  did  nothing.  The  enemy  admitted  a  lo^s, 
in  killed,  wounded  and  missing,  of  531  ;  but  Gen.  Greene,  on 
what  he  considered  as  undoubted  authority,  said  it  could  not  be 
less  than  633  ;  while  the  whole  loss  of  the  Americans  was  not 
much  over  200.  Gen.  Greene  had  only  1490  regular  soldiers 
at  the  beginning  of  the  engagement ;  and  of  tliese  the  2nd  re- 
giment of  Marylanders  were  struck  with  a  panic  and  fled  with- 
out doing  any  execution.  The  arlillery  did  Mttle  or  nothing  ; 
and  if  the  North  Carohna_ militia  fled,  as  most  of  thein  did,  at 
the  first  onset,  fhc  British  soon  outnumbered  the  Americans: 


rJ^  LIFE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

and  their  artillery  was  used  with  trcHaondous  efiect.  The  dis- 
grace 'of  Nol'th  Carolina  on  this  occasion  was  owing  to  her 
wretched  policy  of  "making  the  defence  of  the  country  a  pun- 
ishment for  oJences,  and  of  forcing  the  disaffected  into  service." 
The  piihtia  comiiiaiided  by' Generals  Bnller  and  Eaton,  or  most 
of  tliem,  fled  in  a  most  dastardly  planner;  but  the  volunteers 
were  of  different  mettle.  It  i^  matter  of  history  that  the  North 
Carolina  hne  was  placed  in  front,  jhsi  behind  the  fence,  having 
fair  sweep  at  tlie  Biilis'h  as  they  advanced  t'hrongh  the  open 
field  in  front;  and  the  Virginia  militia  were  drawn  up  at  a  dis- 
tance of  three'hundred  yards  behind  them,  in  the  woods.  In 
that  front  line  were  a  goodiuiniber  of  volunteers,  "commanded 
bythe'gallant  and  patriotic  Col.  For  bis.  They  liad  rifles,  and 
were  good  marksmen.  They  were  posted  immediately  behhid 
the,  fence  ;  and  took  deliberate- aim,  whh  their  guns  pointing 
through  the  cracks  and  restingou- the  rails.  Their  first  fire  is 
known  to  have  been  a  deadly  one ;  and  probably  their  second 
one  also  ;  for  they  stood  firm  nsitil  they  had  fired  twice,  accord- 
ing to  orders ;  and  than  retreated.  It  has.  always  btiei?  saia,  and 
I  believe  was  said  by  Forbis  himself,  that  he  was  shbt  by  the 
Virginia  militia,  wIjo  did  not  'wait  until  he  got -past  them;  but 
fired  rashly  and  in  some  confusion,  at  least  in  that  part  of  the 
line.  It  is  also  known  tliat  a  great  many  of  the  British  were 
buried  in  thflt  field;  and  near  the  place  where  their  front  line 
was  when  the  first  fire  was  given.  Of  this' there  is  no  doubt; 
for  it  is  well  attested  by  people  in  the  neighborhood'  who  were 
on  the  ground  next  day  after  the  battle,  and  saw  them  burying 
their  dead. 

But  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  a  British  officer, 
which  was  obtained  by  the  kindness  of  Dr.  John  A.  Mebaiie  of 
this  place,  and  the  genuineness  of  whicli  is  uiiqnestionable,  may 
possibl-y  throw  some  light  on  this  matter,  though  I  have  not  been 
able  to  ascertain  precisely  what  part  of  the  American  army  the 
writer  meant  by  « the  Irish  liiiQ."  Dr.  Stewart,  to  Whom  the 
letter  was'directed,waj|0,-native  of  Scotland,  but  came  to  America 
when  a  young  miin  ;  and  died  in  this  county  some  eight  or  ten 
years  a.go.  Capt.  Stewart  wlio  wrote  the  letter,  was  his  cousin 
and  commanded  a  company  of  Scotch  ]3lues  in  the  Guilford  bat- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  2.U 

tie.  In  the  old  field  next  to  the  court  house,  where  the  battle 
tcrmmated,the  greater  part  of  both  the  British  and  Americans 
were  burted  ;  and.  about  the  tinje  that  this  letter  was  written 
the  bones  of  some  of  them  had  become  exposed.  Dr.  Stewa.rt, 
in  wrhing  to  his  cousin,  mentioned  this  fact  ;  and  sup|)0sedthat 
they  were  the  bones  of  Britisli  soldiers.  To  tliis  tlie  letter  was 
a  reply  ;  and  with  this  explanation  it  will  be  intelligible  to  the 
reader.  - 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Dugald  Stewart,  a  captarin  in  the  army 

of  CornwaUis,  to  his  relative  Donald  Stewart,  of  Guilfocd  colm- 

ty,  N.  G.,  dated  : 

"BALLACHELisH,Argyleshire,  Scotland,  Oct.  25th,  1825* 

"You  onoe  in  your  letters  to  me  mentioned  aboiit  the  battle 
of  Guilford  court  house,  and  that  you  were  sorry  to  see  the  bones 
of  so  many  of  my  countrymen  scattered  about.  I  wish  to  cor- 
rect you  in  this  error. — The  bones  wliiiih  you  observed  there 
must  be  those  of  your  own  countrymen,  the  Americans;  for  as 
we  kept  possession  Of  the  field  we  hurried  our  own  dead."  The 
regiment  to  which  1  belonged,  the  71st,  or  Frazier's  Highland- 
ers, were  drawn  up  on  the  left  of  the  British  line,  along  with  the 
23d,  or  Welsh  Fusiliers,  with  some  other,  regiments.  In  the  ad- 
vance we  received  a  very  deadly  fire  from  the  Irish  line  of  t  lie 
Jimerican  army ,  composed  qf  t-Jieir  marksmen  lyins^  on  the 
ground  behind  a  rail  fence.  One  half  of  the  Highlanders  dropt 
on  that  spot.  There  ought  to  be  a  pretty  large  tumulus  where 
our  men  were  buried." — This  extract  was  thought  to  be  worthy 
of  preservation,  as  it  may  be  interesting  to  those  who  have  any 
curiosity  on  the  subject;  but  any  farther  comment  on  it  here  is 
deemed  unnecessary. 

To  a  serious  and  cohtemplative  mmd  the  conflict  of  armies  is 
an  awful  scene  ;  and  to  engage  in  such  a  conflict  voluntarily  and 
with  cool  deliberation  requires  great  heroism  or  great  stupidity  ; 
but  to  walk  over  the  battle  field  when  death  aild  destruction 
have  done  their  work,  while  it  requires  almost,  as  much  nerve, 
gives  full  play  to  the  feelings  of  sympathy  and  humanity.  Al- 
though Gen.  Greene  received  what  he  deemed  satisfactory  in- 
telligence that  "  the  utmost  attention  which  circumstances  would 
admit  of,  had  been  shown  towards  his  wounded,  by  the  British 


238  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

,♦>.■;. 

commander;"  and  although  "his  first  act  after  ahghting  from 
his  horse,  was  to  send  surgeons  with  a  flag  into  the  enemy's 
camp  to  attend  the  American  wounded,  forwarding  along  with 
them,  provisions  and  every  article  of  comfort  which  the  slender 
resources  of  the  army  could  fm-ni§h,"  there  were  still  some  cases 
of  suffering  and  apparent  neglect  that  were  painful  to  any  man 
of  humane  feelmgs.  The  brave  and  lamented  Forbis  wasover- 
lookad  and  left  to  suffer.  He  lay  thrre  on  the  cold  ground,  with- 
out any  tljing  to  shelter  him  from  the  driving  rain,  and  without 
receiving  any  refreshment,  except,  one  drink  of  water,  until  the 
next  evening,  near  30  hours.  After  the  battle,  the  tories  were 
swarming  over  the  ground,  and  appear«^d  to  be  much  elated. — 
One  of  those  who  were  call  "good  tories"  came  on  Forbis  soon 
after  tlie  engagement  was  over;  and  at  his  request,  brought  his 
liat  full  of  water,  and  sat  it  down  beside  him.  The  same  even- 
ing another  found  him,  it'is  said,  by  the  name  of  Shoemaker,  an 
acquaintance, -who  had  hitherto  professed, to  be  neutral;  but 
when  Forbis  begged  him,  for  mercy's  sake,  to  get  him  a  drink 
of  water,  he  cursed  him  for  a  rebel,  and  stuck  his  baj^onet  into 
hiiH.  The  whigs,  according  to  tradition,  in  a  short  time,  got 
hold  of  him,  and  attached  him  by  the  neck  to  the  limb  of  a  tree. 
Next  evening  Forbis  was  found  accidentally  by  an  old  lady 
from  his  neighborhood,  who  had  come  up  in  search  of  her  broth- 
ers, of  whom  she  had  been  able  to  get  no  intelligence.  With 
difficulty  she  got  him  on  her  horse,  and  started  home  with  him, 
leading  the  horse  and  holding  him  on  ;  but  his  family  having  in 
the  mean  time  got  information,  sent  a  carriage  which  met  them 
on  the  road.  He  was  visited  at  his  own  house  by  a  surgeon  of 
5he  army,  in  company  with  Dr.  Caldwell ;  but  they  could  do  no- 
' tiling  for  him,  and  he  lived  only  a  few  days.  On  the  second 
day  after  the  battle,  a  number  of  old  ladies  in  these  congrega- 
tions,, with  a. promptness  and  kindness  that  did  them  credit,  went 
\\p  with  a  quantity  of  clothing  and  provisions  which  they  had 
rolJccled  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  When  there,  their  curiosity 
])rompted  them  to  go  over  the  scene  of  action,  or  a  part  of  it; 
and  they  had  not  gone  lar  until  they  found  two  or  three  of  the 
Anjcricans  who  had  been  left  unburied;  but  they  had  been 
stripped  and  plundered  of  every  thing  by  the  British  soldiers. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  ;j;ij) 

Dr.  Caldwell  being  on  llie  ground,  made  them  a  very  leeling 
address  ;  and  had  the  men  decently  interred. 

While  the  British  remained  on  the  ground,  which  was  only 
initil  they  buried  their  dead,  tliey  kept  themselves  in  readiness 
for  actiqn  at  a  moment's  warning,  as  they  confidently  expected 
that  Gen.  Greene  would  renew  the  attack;  and  if  he  had,  it  is 
said,  he  must  have  succeeded ;  for  their^  ammunition  was  nearly 
exhausted.  It  was  as  much  as  they  could  do  to  n^aintain  a  suffi- 
cient force  for  their  own  defence,  and  make  something  of  an  im- 
posing appearance,  until  they  could  get  where  they  had  more 
friends ;  for  they  were  every  day  increasing  the  immber  of  their 
enemies.  ]\Iahy  of  the  Quakers,  though  they  tried  to  remain 
neutral,  had  been  with  the  Americans  in  feeling  from  the  first ; 
and  if  the  British  had  remained  much  longer  among  them,  it  is 
believed,  they  would  have  become  whigs  to  a  man,  at  least  in 
principle.  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  after  the  battle, 
Cornwallis  encamped  with  his  army  five  miles  south-west  from 
the  present  town  of  Greensborough  ;  and  before  dayliglithe  was 
on  his  way  to  Wilmington;*  but  to  follow  them  any  farther  at 
present  would  be  transcending  my  limits. 

*It  has  been  the  constant  tradition  of  the  neighborhood  that  Gen.  Greene 
sent  Cornwallis  a  kind  of  banter  belore  he  commenced  Iiis  retreat;  and  the 
following  account  was  recently  given  me  by  an  old  lady  of  intelligence  and 
preat  re.'-pectability,  now  living  in  this  place.  She  was  then  about  15  years 
of  age;  but  her  faculties  are  yet  apparently  unimpaired,  and  her  recollection 
perfectly  good.  Every  one  knows  that  on  the  day  of  the  battle  and  at  an  ear- 
ly period  of  the  engagement,  the  Briti-h  got  posset^-sioii  of  the  American  artil- 
lery; and  although  the  guns  were  spiked  before  they  were  abandoned  by  our 
men,  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  old  lady  states  that  on  the  second  day  after  the  battle  the  Briti.-^h  army 
encamped  vvitliin  a  mile  or  a  little  more  of  her  father's  house;  and  carried 
away  every  thing  they  could  find  on  the  premises,  in  the  way  of  provisions 
fcr  mat)  and  hor.-e.  Before  night  a  while,  a  man  from  the  American  army 
passed  hy  the  house,  bearing  a  vvhitt>  flag,  and  eoing  towards  the  Britisd 
camp.  On  his  return,  about  an  hour  after,  her  father  hailed  him  ;  and  wish- 
ed to  know  the  purport  of  his  communication.  He  replied,  among  olhor 
thmgs,  that  he  had  been  sent  by  Gen.  Greene  to  present  his  compliments  to 
Lord  Cornwallis,  and  to  make  him  an  offer  of  fonr  more  cannon  on  the  same 
terms,  if  he  would  accept  of  them  No  definite  answer  was  given  ;  but  in  the 
cours(!ofthe  night  his  lordship  "cut  stick."  By  morning  he  was  several  miles 
distant;  and  his  camp  was  like  thivt  of  the  Assyrian  army  belore  Jerusalem, 
except  that  it  was  not  so  well  supplied  with  good  and  desirable  things.  As 
til  provisions  they  had  none  to  spate  ter  either  man  or  horse;  and  as  to  other 
things  they  were  no  better  oS.  Cornwallis  claimed  the  victory  at  Martinvi|le, 
but  he  was  really  vanquished;  and,  as  lie  said  himself  soon  after,  "another 


2  10  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

The  Brilisli  left  most  of  their  sick  and  wounded  at  New  Gar- 
den, while  those  of  the  American  army  were  at  Martinville ; 
and  the  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  two  armies  were  on  ■ 
friendly  terms,  and  frequently  had  intercourse  with  each  other. 
In  this  way  Dr.  Caldwell  became  acquainted  with  the  physician 
who  had  befriended  his  family;  and  was  much  pleased  with 
him.  He  went  to  see  him  at  New  Garden  ;  and  the  other  pre- 
sented him  with  a  handsome  walking  cane,  as  a  memento  of 
their  friendship.  His  name  was  Jackson;  and  he  afterwards 
published  a  work  of.  some  kind  which  Dr.  Caldwell  purchased. 

Great  complaints  were  made  throughout  the  war  of  the  un- 
fair measures  used  by  the  British  officers  to  get  their  American 
prisoners' enlisted  m  the  service  of  the  king.  Threats,  mal- 
treahiient,  and  persuasions  were  alternately  used,  or-all  together 
as  occasion  seemed  to  require  ;  and  false  representations,  it  is 
said,  were  some  times  made  for  the  purpose,  especially  when 
their  prospepts  were  most  gloomy.  In  some  places  they  suc- 
ceeded perhaps,  at  least  with  many  .individuals  ;  but  in  this  re- 
gion it  is  not  known  that  they  succeeded  in  a  single  instance,* 
though  great  efforts  were- made. 

When  the  British  army  was  withdrawn,  the  country  was  re- 
lieved from  the  burden  of  its  maintenance,  and  from  much  un- 

such  victory  would  have  been  his  ruin."  They  kept  the  field  partly  by  superior 
discipline  and  partly  by  accident;  but  they  were  victor*!  only  in  name.  A 
part  of  our  imilitia — those  from  Virginia  and  the  volunteers  from  North  Caio- 
iina,  did  jjrGat  execution  at  tlie  onset ;  but  when  they  had  done  it,  tlicy  fled 
like  Scythians,  ]eavin<j  tire  enemy  in  possession  oi'  tlie  ground,  to  boast  o1  a 
joyless  and  bootless  victory  ;  and  then  to  regret  his  loss  and. to  weep  over  his 
gain. 

*Grpat  efforts  were,  made  to  prevail  on  their  prisoners  -to  enlist  in  the 
British  service;  and  as  an  old  jxcnfleman  of  respectable  character,  who  was 
a  prisoner  in  the  British  camp,  on  the  day  of  the  battle,  iiiforniod  me  not  l-n^ 
since,  that  in  the.  evenin^sf  some  of  the  oflicers  told  the  prisoners  they  migiit  a  s 
well  enlist  now;  for  (jreene  was  worse  defeated  than  Gates  had  been;  and 
they  could  no  longer  have  any  hope  of  success.  The^poor  fellows  were  mucb 
dejected;  hut  they  could  nqt  consent  to  take  such  a  step,  or  not  until  they  had 
more  certain  inl()rniation.  This  was  all  they  knew  of  the  results  of  the  bat- 
tle until  next  mornino,  juntas  the  sun  rose,  while  silence  and  an  air  of  sadness 
prevaded  the  British  camp,  they  heard  Gen.  Greene's  morninnf  gun  booming 
in  the  distance;  and  tliey  instantly  raised  the  shout — "  Huzza!  boys;  the  old 
cock's  crowing  again:  there's  no  danger  now." — The  old  gentleman  also 
said  that. the  bag<rage  and  prisoners  wore  left,  on  the  day  of  battle,  four  miles 
in  the  rear,  with  a  small  guard;  and  could  have  been  taken  with  periect  case 
by  a  few  men,  if  it  had  btebn  known. 


LIFE  OF  DAVin  CAI-IIVVKLL,  D.D.  241 

necessary  and  ruthless  destruction  of  property  ;  but  domestic 
enemies  still  remained,  who,  so  iar   as  they  had   power,  were 
more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  others.     The  tories,  many  of  whom 
were  unprincipled  and  reckless,  being  now  without  the  partial 
restraints  under  which  they  had  hitherto   been,  became  more 
bold  and  daring  than  ever.     From  the  time   the  south  became 
the  theatre  of  war  they  had  been  very  troublesome  ;  and  seem- 
ed to  have  a  peculiar  spite  at  Dr.  Caldwell.     An  incident  o'f  the 
kind  occurred  a  few  months  before  the  time  of  which  I  am  now 
writing;  and  which,  as  it  has  just  come  to  my  knowledge,  and 
is  worth  relating,  is  liere  given,  though  a  little  out  of  its  proper 
place.     Late  in  the  fall  of  1780,  a  man  called  at  his  house  one 
evening  about  dark,  with  the  intention   of  staying  all  night. — 
The  Doctor  was  not  at  home  ;  but  as  he  thought  himself  safer 
in  the  house  of  a  clergyman,  especially  one  of  his  standing,  than 
any  where  else,  he  told  Mrs.  Caldwell  that  he  had  been  sent  as 
an  express  from  Gen.  Washington  to  Gen.  Greene,  who  was 
then  on  the  Pee  Dee  river  j  and  that,  as  he  was  very  hungry 
and  fatigued,  he  wished  to  get  accommodations  for  the  night. — 
Her  solicitude  was  immediately  awakened  for  the  safety  of  his 
papers,  as  well  as  of  himself;  and  she  promptly  told  him  he  had 
better  not  remain;  for  if  the  tories  should  get  any  intimation  of 
his  being  there,  he  would  certainly  be  robbed  before  morning ; 
and  at  all  events,  she  never  knew  the  day  nor  the  hour  when 
they  would  be  attacked.     She  therefore  told  him  that  she  would 
furnish  him  with  staiiething  to  eat,  such  as  she  had,  and  as 
speedily  as  possible  ;  but  that  he  had  better  then  go  somewhere 
else.     Supper  was  soon  on  the  table,  and  he  sat  down  ;  but  just 
at  that  moment  such  an  unaccountable  apprehension  came  over 
him,  that  he  became  agitated  and  could  not  cat.     Presently  they 
heard  some  one  without  saying.  Surround  the  house,  surround 
the  house ;  and  they  found  themselves  assailed  by  a  body  of 
tories.     Mrs.  Caldwell  instantly  told  him  that  he  must  do  just 
as  she  directed  him,  and  do  it  promptly.     Then  bidding  him 
follow  her,  she  took  him  out  of  the  house  at  tlie  oi)i)ositc  side 
from  that  at  which  the  assailants  were  ;  and  by  a  way  not  com- 
monly used.     A  large  locust  tree  stood  close  to  the  house  ;  and 
•as  it  was  still  hanging  pretty  full  of  ripe  locusts,  and  the  ni2;ht 
31 


242  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

being  dark,  it  furnished  a  very  good  place  of  concealment.  She 
told  him  that  he  must  ascend  that,  thorny  as  it  was ;  and  conceal 
himself  among  the  losusts,  until  he  found  that  the  men  were  en- 
gaged in  plundering  the  house.  Then  he  must  descend  on  the 
other  side ;  and  trust  to  providence  and  his  heels  for  safety.  He 
did  so,  and  made  his  escape  ;  but  the  house  was  plundered. 

While  the  British  army  was  about,  the  tories,  though  bold  and 
confident  of  success,  were  under  some  restraint,  partly  by  that 
very  confidence,  or  by  the  hope  of  a  speedy  and  complete  tri- 
umph ;  and  partly  by  the  presence  of  those  whose  authority  they 
were  obligea  in  some  degree  to  respect,  and  Dr.  Caldwell  often 
remarked  that  he  never  apprehended  any  danger  of  his  life  from 
the  British ;  but  he  did  from  tlie  tories,  especially  after  the  re- 
treat of  Cornwallis.  Their  conduct  was  more  insiduous  and 
dastardly  ;  and  their  attacks  were  generally  made  in  the  night, 
burning  houses  and  other  property,  and  sometimes  acts  of  mur- 
der were  perpetrated.  The  men  of  these  congregations  were 
some  of  them  in  Greene's  army;  and  the  rest  were  often  out  on 
expeditions  against  the  tories,  particularly  down  the  Cape  Fear 
river.  These  troublesome  enemies,  if  let  alone,  would  embody 
there  in  such  numbers  under  Fannen,  Walker,  and  others  of  a  sim- 
ilar character,  as  to  become  formidable  ;  and  therefore  continual 
efl"orts  were  necessary  to  disperse  them  or  keep  them  in  awe.  In 
this  county  they  could  not  embody  to  any  extent ;  for  they  had 
no  leader,  nor  were  they  sufficiently  numerous;  and  all  they 
could  do  was  by  watching  their  opportunity  when  the  men  were 
away  ;  or  by  assailing  a  lone  family  in  the  night  and  making 
their  escape  before  any  alarm  could  be  given.  Sometimes  they 
succeeded  in  this  way  and  sometimes  they  were  sadly  disap- 
pointed.* 

*The  following  incident  which  occurred  in  the  Alamance  confrrcpation 
with  a  man  by  the  name  of  John  Alexander,  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of 
the  state  ot  tiimgs  for  mouths  after  the  battle  at  Martinville  ;  and  many  such 
exploits  and  discomfitures  still  live  in  the  traditions  of  the  couiitry.  Aliwcan- 
der  was  a  warm  whig  and  had  been  very  active  m  the  cause  ot  liberty.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  'i'onnfc.->ee;  and  liad  a  son  who  became  a  respectable 
rnmister  of  the  gospel,  in  the  Presbyterian  church  ;  and  is  perhaps  still  living ; 
but  at  the  time  of  which  vve  are  speakmg,  this  son,  if  born,  was  only  a  cliild. 
At  this  lime  the  old  man  had  three  daughters,  the  oldest  of  whom  was  about 
grown;  and  each  of  the  others  a  size  less.  Like  most  of  his  neighbors 
ho  kept  his  pitch  forks  and  other  farming  utensils  in  the   house  to  prevent 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  ii4J 

The  house  of  Dr.  Caldwell  was  plundered  two  or  three  limes 
ill  the  course  of  tlie  summer  after  the  battle  ;  but  of  these  only- 
one  or  two  incidenls  are  recollected.  Mrs.  Caldwell  had  a  very- 
elegant  table  cloth,  which  she  received  as  a  present  from  her 
mother  when  she  went  to  house  keeping,  and  whicii  she  prized 
very  highly  as  a  memento  of  departed  worth.  On  one  occasion 
when  a  body  of  tories  were  plundering  the  house  of  every  thing 
they  could  iind,  one  of  them,  having  broke  open  the  chest  or 
drawer  in  which  it  was  kept,  got  the  table  cloth ;  but  she  seized 
it  at  the  same  time,  and  was  resolved  not  to  let  it  go.  This  oc- 
casioned something  of  a  scuffle,  which  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  others ;  but  when  she  found  he  would  wrest  it  from  her,  un- 
less she  could  exert  some  other  than  muscular  power,  she  paused, 
and  with  her  eye  fixed  upon  them — still  retaining  her  hold  on 
the  article  however,  and  appealing  to  them  with  a  woman's  el- 
oquence— asked  them  if  they  were  not  born  of  women,  or  if  they 
had  no  wives  or  daughters  whom  they  respected,  and  for  whose 
sake  they  would  treat  others  with  more  civility.  This  Iiad  the 
desired  effect:  a  small  man  who  stood  a  few  feet  off,  looking  on, 
stepped  up,  and,  while  a  tear  started  in  his. eye,  said,  yes;  he 
had  a  wife,  a  fine  little  woman  she  was  too  ;  and  Mrs.  Caldwell 
should  not  be  treated  so  rudely  any  more. — By  some  means  or 
other  they  got  Dr.  Caldwell's  rifle  gun  which  was  never  recov- 
ered, nor  did  he  ever  get  any  compensation  for  il ;  but  being  well 
satisfied  in  his  own  mind  who  was  the  depredator,  though  he 

their  beintr  stolen;  aiid  on  this  occasion  they  snsjwered  a  valuable  purpose.— 
Three  or  four  tones  waylaid  him  one  Saturday  nifrlit  as  lie  was  returning  from 
a  corn  shuckino-;  but  as  he  happened  lo  take  a  different  path  they  missed 
their  aim.  He  had  just  ffot  in  bed  however  when  tliey  assaulted  the  house. 
He  started  up  and  seized  his  gun,  bidding'  his  daughters  at  the  same  time  to 
get  the  pitch  forks  and  make  good  use  of  them.  The  door  which  was  barred 
soon  gave  way:  and  as  tliev  were  entering  he  presented  his  gun  but  it  missed 
fire.  The  daughtersat  his  command  instantly  charged  upon  them  with  their 
pitch  forks,  and  with  groat  rfsohuinn.  The  oldest  d.iughter  wounded  one  of 
the  men  severely  and  made  him  retreat;  and  anong  them  they  prevented  the 
whole  po^se  t'rom  advancin"-  any  further  until  their  father  got  liis  gun  primed 
again,  when  he  put  a  bail  through  one  of  them.  His  name  was  Frederick 
Sherer;  and  Alexander  knew  him  when  he  sliot.  The  others  bore  liim  ofl 
to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Harding  in  the  neighborhood  where  the  body  was  found 
ne.vt  day  and  hurried  ;  but  in  their  confusion  they  lefl  his  hat  at  the  door;  and 
Alexander  wore  it  to  preaching  at  Alamance  the  next  day  as  a  tropiiy.  The 
daughter  married  soon  after ;  and  lived  many  years  in  the  same  neighborhood. 


344  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALUWELL,  D.D. 

had  no  positive  testimony,  lie  took  his  own  way  of  inflicting 
pnnisiiment.  Some  years  after,  when  he  undertook  to  build  a 
new  house,  he  employed  this  man  to  do  the  work;  treated  him 
very  kindly,  though  in  such  a  way  that  he  felt  continually  re- 
proved for  his  own  meanness;  and  would  frequently  take  an 
opportunity  of  telling  him  about  a  certain  tory  who  stole  his 
gun,  describing  the  thief  very  minutely — his  heiglit,  his  com- 
plexion, the  color  of  his  hair,  the  dimple  on  his  chin,  &c.;  and 
then  would  add,  in  his  peculiar  manner,  "he  Avas  just  about 
such  a  looking  man  as  you  are."  No  one  who  had  no  personal 
knowledge  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  could  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  ef- 
fect produced  by  this  course ;  but  it  was  most  tormenting,  and 
yet  it  was  all  done  apparently  in  perfect  good  humor. 

Owing  to  the  confusion  and  distress  which  had  prevailed  for 
some  time  in  the  country,  the  exercises  of  the  sanctuary,  the  op- 
erations of  civil  government,  the  labors  of  science,  and  even  the 
ordinary  duties  of  private  and  social  life  were  suspended  or 
greatly  interrupted.  Prayer  however  is  practicable  everywhere 
and  at  all  times;  for  God  is  an  infinite  spirit,  and  may  be  ap- 
proached by  the  devout  heart,  not  only  on  Mount  Zion  or  in  Je- 
rusalem, but  in  the  closet  or  in  the  wilderness.  It  is  natural  and 
right  for  a  religious  community  at  all  times,  especially  when  in 
distress,  to  seek  the  Tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  if  it  be  accessible, 
to  hear  his  instructions  arid  to  presenttheir  united  supplications; 
but  if  that  be  impracticable,  they  may  mourn  nnd  pray,  each  one 
apart,  or  in  groups  around  the  family  altar;  and  such  was  the 
practice  of  christians  in  these  times  of  gloominess  and  dismay,  of 
vexation  and  trouble.  While  this  state  of  peril  and  sufl^t-ring 
continued.  Dr.  Caldwell  was  debarred,  not  only  from  the  public 
exercises  of  the  Sabbath,  but  in  a  great  measure  from  the  com- 
forts of  the  domestic  fireside.  His  school  also  had  been  broken 
up;  and  some  of  his  scholars  were  drafted  to  recruit  the  Amer- 
ican army,  and  were  in  the  battle  at  the  court  house ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  country  ceased  to  be  the  theatre  of  war,  he  returned 
to  his  pulph,  and  to  the  discharge  of  his  ministerial  and  pastoral 
duties.  The  exercises  of  his  school  were  also  resumed  as  soon 
as  circumstances  permitted,  though  the  number  of  his  scholars 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D.  245 

was  small  until  peace,  and,  with  it,  incipient  prosperity,  were 
restored  to  the  country. 

But  a  work  remained  to  be  done  wnich  was  equally  as  im- 
portant as  the  achievement  of  independence  ;  and  which  required 
all  the  talents,  learning  and  piety  that  could  be  brought  to  its 
performance.  The  formation  of  a  constitutional  government,  so 
regulated  and  secured,  as  to  ans^ver,  by  its  uniform  and  whole- 
some operation,  all  the  purposes  for  which  such  a  government 
was  needed,  in  the  existing  condition  of  the  country,  was  no 
easy  task,  and  could  not  be  the  work  of  a  day.  The  people 
had  proved  what  had  been  often  proved  before  in  a  similar  way 
by  the  people  of  other  countries,  that  the  government  to  which 
they  had  been  subject,  might  be  successfully  resisted  and  free- 
dom from  its  operations  obtained ;  but  it  remained  for  them  to 
do  what  never  had  been  done,  which  was,  to  shew  the  world 
that  societies  of  men  when  thus  set  at  hberty  are  capable  of  go- 
verning themselves,  or  of  establishing  a  wise  and  wholesome 
government  from  reflection  and  choice..  The  difliculties  were 
apparently  insurmountable,  as  any  one  may  perceive  by  read- 
ing the  Federalist  and  other  publications  of  that  day ;  and  the 
advocates  of  monarchy  in  this  country,  as  well  as  the  potentates 
of  the  old  word,  pronounced  it  an  impossibility.  Many,  too, 
even  of  the  most  patriotic  and  inteUigent,  were  doubtful,  if  not 
incredulous ;  but  some  thing  must  be  done.  A  government 
was  needed  which  should  be  free,  yet  firm  and  vigorous ; — so 
liberal  in  its  provisions  as  to  meet  the  views  and  embrace  the  in- 
terests of  all  sections  of  the  union  ;  but  placed  on  a  basis  so  firm 
and  so  well  guarded  that  it  would  remain  secure  from  the  as- 
saults of  foes  witliout,  and  the  conflicts  of  ambition  and  party 
strife  within.  To  abandon  the  prize  which  cost  them  so  dear, 
and  to  throw  away  or  lose  the  ricliest  boon,  next  to  religion, 
which  heaven  ever  conferred  upon  a  people,  without  making 
every  possible  efl'ort  for  its  preservation,  would  have  been  crim- 
inal and  disgraceful  in  the  extreme.  The  work  ivas  done,  and 
done  to  the  admiration  of  the  world,  though  it  took  nearly  as 
long  as  the  war  with  Great  Britain  ;  for  the  whole  period  from 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  if  not  from  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, was  a  contest  with  difliculties  which  would  liaveheen 


246  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

easily  overcome  with  such  a  government  as  we  now  have ;  and 
the  whole  of  it  was  a  constant  effort  too  on  the  part  of"  the  wise 
and  patriotic,  to  get  such  a  government  established.  Wlien  the 
necessity  of  the  measure  became  manifest,  from  the  insufficiency 
of  the  old  Confederation  to  answer  the  purposes  for  which  it  was 
formed,  the  people  looked  to  the  same  source  and  employed  the 
same,  or  many  of  the  same  agents,  whom  they  had  found  wor- 
thy of  confidence  in  the  bloody  strife  with  a  foreign  foe.  They 
iiivokcd  the  aid  of  heaven  ;  and  confided  in  the  integrity  and 
wisdom  of  the  men  who  had  counselled  and  guided  them  through 
all  the  difficulties  and  perils  of  the  past. 

As  might  be  expected,  Dr.  Caldwell  was  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple of  his  county  to  represent  them  in  the  Convention  which 
adopted  the  present  Federal  Constitution;  and  although  there 
were  many  men  of  the  first  intelligence  and  ability  in  that  body, 
riie  debates  were  not  as  able  perhaps  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected on  such  an  occasion ;  for  the  ablest  men  or  the  best  ora- 
tors were  all  on  one  side.  According  to  the  Debates  of  the  Con- 
vention, as  they  have  been  reported,  the  Doctor  seems  to  have 
taken  about  such  a  stand  as  might  have  been  expected  from  his 
previous  habits  and  circumstances.  He  had  lived  remote  from 
Jlie  centre  of  hiteliigence  and  of  co-operation  ;  and  there  were 
iio  men  living  in  his  region  who  were  liberally  educated  and 
prominent  as  politicians.  He  had  therefore  been  without  much 
intercourse  v/ith  the  master  spirits  of  the  day  ;  and  consequent- 
ly Avitiiout  the  mental  stimulus,  at  least  in  that  department  of 
human  !\nowledge  and  human  interests,  which  such  intercourse 
imparts.  Of  course  he  had  been  without  the  best  means  of  cor- 
recting those  partial  or  defective  views  which  a  man  is  apt  to 
lorm  on  any  practical  subject,  in  a  state  of  seclusion  ;  and  which 
nothing  can  effectually  correct  but  discussion  or  collision  with 
other  minds  of  intelligence,  evperience,  and  observation.  With 
tlse  general  principles  of  liberty  he  was  well  acquainted;  but 
with  the  details  of  government  he  had  never  had  much  to  do. 
lie  had  been  the  principal  source  of  general  intelligence  as  well 
as  of  religious  knowledge,  in  his  neighborhood;  and  while  all 
looked  up  to  him  for  instruction  there  were  none  to  contradict, 
or  to  cnliohtcn  and  correct.     Besides,  having  been  all  along  oc- 


LIFE  CP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D,D.  241 

cupied  with  his  school,  his  medical  practice,  and  the  duties  of 
his  pastoral  office,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  he  would  ap- 
pear to  so  much  advantage  in  a  political  assembly,  or  that  he 
would  be  so  well  acquainted  with  the  details  of  a  constitution 
required  by  the  diversified  interests,  sentiments,  and  habits  of 
this  widely  extended  country,  as  those  who  had  been  from  the 
first,  in  curcumstances  more  favorable  for  observation,  and  for 
having  their  minds  excited  and  their  views  corrected  by  contin- 
ual intercourse  with  kindred  spirits. 

From  the  Reports  it  appears  that  Dr.  Caldwell  was  with  the 
majority,  of  the  first  convention,  m  adopting  the  constitution  on- 
ly on  certain  conditions,  being  an  advocate  for  state  rights,  and 
afraid  of  putting  too  much  power  in  the  handsof  the  President; 
and  the  course  of  events  during  the  last  few  years  have  led  ma- 
ny to  thhik  that  the  fears  which  were  then  entertained  were  not 
altogether  groundless.  There  were  both  intrinsic  and  cn-cuui- 
stantial  difficulties  in  the  case.  The  formation  of  a  government 
that  would  have  sufficient  firmness  and  vigor,  and  yet  be  suffi- 
ciently free  and  guarded  against  the  abuse  of  power,  was  then 
a  matter  of  experiment ;  but  people  who  are  possessed  of  only  a 
moderate  share  of  prudence  and  are  actuated  by  pure  motives, 
always  approach  an  expiriment  with  caution,  where  the  intersts 
at  stake  are  so  momentous,  and  the  danger,  though  it  may  not 
be  very  well  defined,  is  manifestly  great  and  near  at  hand.  It 
was  ahnost  impossible  in  this  case  to  know  just  what  amount  of 
power  was  necessary  in  an  executive  officer,  and  one  too  of 
which  the  world  furnished  no  example,  to  enable  him  to  fulfil 
the  intentions  of  his  appointment.  Knowing  as  they  did  that 
they  could  put  no  reliance  on  the  integrity  of  the  men  who  might, 
in  process  of  time,  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  nation,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  matter  of  prudence  and  sound  policy  to  confer  on 
the  supreme  executive  no  more  power  than  would  barely  suf- 
fice for  the  discharge  of  his  duties ;  but  in  their  circumstances, 
that  was  not  easily  defined  or  ascertained.  Even  now,  after  a 
trial  of  more  than  half  a  century,  there  is  much  diversity  of 
opinion  on  this  point ;  and  akhough  the  dangers  arising  from 
the  abuse  of  executive  patronage  are  more  manifest,  or  better 
understood  than  they  were  at  that  early  day,  when  experience 


2AS  LIFE  OK  DAVID  CALDWELL,  B.D 

had  given  no  sanction  or  confirmation  to  theory,  and  whentrnth 
had  not  fairh^  put  her  seal  upon  the  system  which  they  were 
forming,  it  is  fonnd  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impracticable,  to 
form  any  constitutional  checks  by  which  these  evils  may  be  cer- 
tainly averted.  The  difficulty  seems  to  be  inherent ;  and  cannot 
be  removed  or  overcome  by  the  wisdom  and  power  of  man  nor 
by  any  thing  except  a  moral  safeguard  implanted  and  cherished 
in  the  bosonjs  of  those  who  are  to  be  trusted. 

There  were  difficulties  also  arising  out  of  the  feelings  or  pre- 
judices and  circnmstances  of  the  people.  They  had  known  so 
much  of  the  oppressions  experienced  from  executive  patronage, 
standing  armies,  &c.,  while  subject  to  the  British  government, 
and  had  suffered  so  much  in  resisting  that  government  wh«m  it 
became  intolerable,  that  they  were  morbidly  sensitive  on  every 
thing  connected  with  popular  rights;  and  the  same  principle 
which  led  them  to  be  jealous  of  a  hereditary  monarch  was 
extended  in  some  degree  to  their  own  representatives,  though 
chosen  by  themselves  and  at  such  short  intervals  that  they  were 
removable  almost  at  pleasure.  It  was  therefore  fortunate  that 
the  attempt  to  form  our  present  government  was  not  made  at  an 
earlier  day,  or  until  they  had  much  time  for  reflection  and  had 
learned  much  from  experience,  otherwise  it  could  not  have  been 
formed,  or  must  have  been  regarded  as  mere  theory, — a  Utopian 
scheme  that  might  serve  for  amusement,  but  could  never  be  re- 
duced to  practice.  Dr.  Caldwell,  though  remarkably  judicious 
when  in  possession  of  the  facts  which  would  enable  him  to  form 
a  judgment,  was  equally  cautious  when  those  facts  were  want- 
hig.  It  is  said,  though  I  know  not  on  what  authority,  that  he 
drafted  the  article  in  the  State  Constitution  which  excludes  all 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  the  one  which  excluded  Ro- 
iriau  Catholics,  from  holding  certain  offices  under  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  if  so,  it  is  an  evidence,  not  only  of  his  strong  attach- 
ment to  liberty,  but  of  his  vigilance  in  guarding  against  every 
thing  which  might  lead  to  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  and 
consequently  to  a  violationof  of  the  rights  of  conscience. 

A  free  government  is  a  government  of  the  people  ;  and  unless 
they  have  sufficient  hiteUigencc  and  virtue  to  appreciate  its  val- 
ue and  10  sustain  its  operation,  whatever  wisdom  may  have 


LIFE  OP  BAVIl)  CALDWELL,  «.D.  ;i4^ 

been  employed  in  its  construction,  its  duration  must  be  short; 
but  the  very  struggle  by  which  the  people  of  this  country  ob- 
tained the  privilege  of  governing  themselves  was  calculated  to 
impair  their  most  essential  qualifications  for  self-government. 
War,  under  any  circumstances,  is  a  prolific  source  of  immorality 
and  vice ;  but  when  it  is  both  foreign  and  domestic,  as  it  was 
here,  every  kind  of  government,  except  that  of  martial  law,  is 
suspended,  and  all  civil  and  ecclesiastical  restraints  are  in  a  good 
degree  removed;  the  worst  passions  of  human  nature  are  in- 
tensely and  constantly  excited ;  and  the  progress  of  vice  soon  gains 
an  ascendancy  over  every  thing  good.  A  seven  years'  war  of 
this  description  had  produced  such  anarchy  and  wickedness  that 
society  was  not  easily  restored  even  to  its  former  state  of  sobri- 
ety and  good  morals.  We  are  rather  agreeably  surprised,  in 
contemplating  this  subject,  to  find  as  much  vital  religion  as  there 
was  amidst  the  great  deterioration  of  morals  which  we  know 
existed  in  a  large  portion  of  society ;  but  still  there  was  an  im- 
perious necessity  for  a  reformation,  in  this  respect,  which  should 
pervade  the  entire  conmiunily  ;  and  this  was  a  work  which  be- 
longed peculiarly  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  ;  nor  did  they 
manifest  any  despondency  ;  but  engaged  in  it  with  all  the  zeal 
and  firmness  which  the  difficulty  and  importance  of  the  task  re- 
quired. The  statesmen  of  that  day  also,  or  such  of  them  as 
were  most  prominent  and  influential,  with  one  at  their  head, 
who,  for  wisdom,  integrity,  and  patriotism,  was  almost  a  perfect 
model,  not  only  admitted  the  necessity  of  intelligence  and  virtue 
to  the  support  of  a  free  government,  but  gave  their  influence  to 
aid  in  the  diflusion  of  christain  principles  as  the  only  security 
for  good  order,  moral  rectitude,  and  due  subordination  in  socie* 
ty. 

During  the  war  the  increase  of  ordained  ministers  and  of  or- 
ganized churches,  of  the  Presbyterian  order,  appears  to  have 
been  as  great  as  m  the  same  length  of  time  at  any  period  since; 
for  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war  the  Presbytery  of  Or- 
ange numbered  twenty  ordained  ministers,  with  six  licentiates 
and  one  or  two  in  a  course  of  preparation  ;  and  these,  with 
two  or  three  exceptions,  were  all  settled  or  laboring,  in  some 
\Vav,  within  the  limits  of  this  State.     They  were  working  menr 


,^50 


LIFE  OK  DAVID  CALDWELL,  »,D. 


and  they  worked  with  a  view  to  permanent  good ;  for  they  were 
rhen  ol"  enlarged  views  as  well  as  of  christian  zeal.*  They 
knew  well  that  without  intelligence  and  virtue  a  free  govern- 
ment could  not  be  long  maintained  ;  and  that  there  could  not 
bo  a  consistent  and  permanent  state  of  practical  religion  with- 
out enlightened  views  of  christian  doctrine.  For  the  attain- 
ment of  the  great  objects  before  them,  almost  every  one  of  them 
taught  a  classical  school;  and  as  a  great  many  men  were  thus 
prepared  for  usefulness  in  the  learned  professions,  these  schools 
became  sources  of  general  information  to  the  people.  In  fact 
nearly  all  the  literatnre  and  science  in  the  State  for  many  years 

*  The  following  statistical  report  from  under  the  hand  of  the  stated  Clerk, 
may  perhaps  be  acceptable  to  a  portion  ot^my  readeis,  especially  as  we  have 
no  Prasbylerial  or  Synodical  records  relating  to  that  period.  It  is  here  given 
verbatim  el  literatim. 

MEMBERS,  PROBATIONERS,  &c. 

OF  THE  PRESBYTERY  OF  ORANGE,    APRIL  2d.  17R4. 

Mmisters. 
Messrs.  Alexander,  Joseph  -    -    ■ 

"  Archibald,   Robert  -     -     ■ 

"       B;irr,  David 

"  Caldwell,  David      -     -     • 

"  Cosson,  John       -     -     -     . 

"  Cummins,  Francis  -    -     ■ 

"  Craighead,  Thomas      -     ■ 

"  Edmunds,  James    -     -     • 

"  Eraser,  James     -     -     -     . 

"  Hall,  Ja.nes  ..... 

"       Harris  John 

"  Hill,  Thomas      .... 

"  McCaule,  T  H.      ... 

"  McCorkle,  Samuel  E,  .     • 

'*  McRee,  James   .... 

*'  Patillo,  Henry   .... 

*'  Reese,  I  homas  .... 

"  Simpson,  John    .... 

"  Tcmpleton,  James       -     ■ 

"  Thatcher,  Daniel     -     .     • 


Churches, 
Bullock's  Creek, 
Rocky  River. 
Sandy  River. 
Buffalo. 
Onochugues. 
Bethel. 
Holstein. 

Expunged  Oct.  5th,  1784.' 
Fourth  Creek. 


Centre. 

Cathey's,  (now  Thyatira.) 

SleelCreek. 


Salem. 

Fishing  Creek. 
Quaker  Meadows. 


Evangelists  not  ordained. 
Messrs.  Finlev,  llooert  licenced  Oct,  9th,  1783. 
"       Hall,  "Robert         "     "     Jan.  29th,  1784. 
"       Mecklin,  Robert     "     "     Oct.  Hi h,  1763. 
♦'       Newton.  John       "     "     Oct  8ili,  1783. 
•'       Doiineil,  Thomas  "     "     April  llih,  1778. 
"       Lake,  Jacob  "     " 

Not  licensed. 
Mr.  John  Springer,  began  June,  1783. 
True  return.     Testis,  t.  H.  McCAULE,  Presb.  C'lJr. 

*  The  word  '•  expunged,"  »Sjc.,  was  written  in  another  hand, 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  251 

was  obtained  or  originated  there  ;  and  the  country  owes  a  debt 
of  gratitude  to  those  men  which  ought  not  to  be  forgotten. — 
Tliey  also  made  it  an  object  to  expound  and  defend  the  promi- 
nent doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  to  enforce  the  great  principles 
of  moral  obligation.  Hence  there  was  a  combination  of  the 
doctrinal  and  practical  in  their  preaching,  which  is  not  generally 
found  to  prevail  at  the  present  day.  Much  of  their  preaching 
was  directed  against  the  predominant  vices  of  the  times,  such 
as  intemperance,  licentiousness,  theft,  robbery,  &c.,  which  were 
then  rife  every  where,  and  required  the  combhied  efforts  of  all 
the  wise  and  good  for  their  suppression.  There  is  in  my  pos- 
session a  manuscript  sermon  pri^ached  about  the  close  of  the 
war,  by  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  country,  entiled,  the  crime 
and  curse  of  plundering  ;  and  others  on  other  subjects  which 
indicate  the  deplorable  state  of  morals  generally  at  that  time. 
It  may  be  said  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  preach  repen- 
tance towards  God  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  once ; 
but  to  do  that  with  etfect,  at  any  time,  the  people  must  have  a 
conscience,  as  the  history  of  the  christian  church  fully  proves  ; 
or  t(iey  must  be  prepared  for  the  oflers  of  mercy,  by  being  in- 
structed in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  Divme  law,  their  own 
character  as  transgressors  of  that  law,  and  the  necessity  of  par- 
don. During  the  war,  and  long  after  it,  when  the  Presbytery 
appointed  its  members  to  supply  vacant  congregations,  it  direc- 
ted them  at  the  same  timi^  to  catechise  the  people  and  adminis- 
ter the  ordinances.  The  appointment  both  for  preaching  and 
for  catechising  was  sent  on  some  weeks  before  liand  ;  and  while 
the  Shorter  Catechism  was  used  for  the  children  and  young  peo- 
ple, the  older  ones  were  furnished  with  a  series  of  written  ques- 
tions, doctrinal,  experimental,  and  practical.  This  was  substan- 
tially the  course  pursued  by  Dr.  Caldwell,  and  by  most  others, 
so  far  as  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  both  in  their  own  churches 
and  in  those  to  which  they  were  sent  as  supplies  ;  and  the  course 
was  certainly  a  judicious  one;  for  if  we  would  raise  a  perma- 
nent superstructure  of  any  kind,  we  must  lay  a  good  founda- 
tion. If  we  would  form  people  to  steady  habits  of  virtue  and 
religion  we  must  make  them  hitelligent.  The  foundation  which 
ihe  Presbyterian  ministers  of  that  day   laid  for  consistent  piety 


2.5/i  LIFE  OF  DAVID  GALDWELL,  D.P 

and  good  morals  was  broad  and  firm — it  was  the  foundatiou 
which  is  laid  in  the  Bible  ;  and  without  any  disposition  to  dis- 
parage the  hibors  or  the  influence  of  others,  it  is  believed  tiiat 
Nortli  Carolina  is  more  indebted  to  their  enlightened  and  chris- 
tian efforts  for  the  character  which  she  has  ever  since  sustained 
for  intelligence,  probity  and  good  order,  than  to  any  other  cause. 
The  ministers  of  other  denominations  were  zealous  and  useful 
in  preaching  the  gospel ;  but  it  is  a  fact,  not  disputed,  that  those 
of  the  Presbyteria)!  body  were  then  more  numerous  and  better 
educated  than  any  others.  They  were  the  laborious  and  unti- 
ring advocates  and  promoters  of  learning  ;  and  upon  them  res- 
ted almost  the  whole  burden  of  education,  so  far  as  it  was  ad- 
vanced beyond  the  mere  rudiments  of  Englisli. 

There  was  much  scepticism  as  well  as  immorality  and  disor- 
der prevailing  in  the  country  at  the  close  of  the  war;  but  the 
former  was  greatly  increased  in  a  few  years  by  foreign  influ- 
ence. The  connexion  which  had  existed  between  this  country 
and  France  during  the  revolutionary  struggle;  the  important 
services  rendered  by  the  latter,  and  the  consequent  obligations 
lelt  and  acknowledged  by  the  former;  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
the  people  of  this  infant  republic  were  then  inspired  on  the  sub- 
ject of  liberty  ;  and  the  progress  which  the  cause  of  freedom 
was  supposed  to  be  making  among  those  who  had  been  so  long 
enslaved,  gave  for  a  time  great  currency  to  their  infidel  opinions. 
The  wrhings  too  of  such  men  as  Volney,  Hobbs,  Paine,  Voltaire 
and  others  were  circulated  freely  and  read  with  avidity  by  all 
classes  of  the  community.  The  ministers  of  religion  presented  a 
bold  front  to  the  torrent  of  error  and  iniquity  which  was  thus 
coming  over  the  land  like  a  flood  ;  and  fearlessly  met  the  advo- 
cates of  infidelity  on  the  field 'of  argument.  The  result  was 
happy,  and  such  as  every  enlightened  friend  of  the  Bible  antici- 
pated. Many  who  were  set  to  do  evil,  persisted  in  their  ruin- 
ous  course,  in  spite  of  reason  and  remonstrance  ;  but  many  were 
reclaimed  and  brought  to  a  saving  knowledg  .  of  the  truth;  and 
of  such  there  are  many  still  living  in  all  parts  of  the  country. — 
The  sermons  which  were  then  published;  and  others  which  are 
yet  preserved  in  manuscript,  manifest  not  only  great  ability  and 
e^ftensive  research^  but  a  devotion  to  the  cause  of  truth  and  a. 


ilFE  OK  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.D.  ^53 

confidence  in  its  ultimate  triumph  which  was  hardly  surpassed 
by  any  set  of  men  in  this  or  any  other  country.  AUhough  Dr. 
Caldwell,  for  reasons,  already  alluded  to  and  will  be  more  fully 
explained  presently,  wrote  but  little  after  the  war,  and  that  lit- 
tle was  not  preserved  with  any  care,  one  unfinislied  sermon  and 
some  fragments  of  others  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  tune, 
which  furnish  proof  of  his  fidelity  and  zeal  m  opposing  error 
and  in  defending  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  Clu-ist ;  but  they  are 
in  such  a  state  that  their  publication  would  be  doi)ig  great  injus- 
tice to  him,  without  taking  more  liberties  with  them  than  would 
be  justifiable  in  an  editor. 

About  the  year  1792,  though  the  precise  date  is  not  known, 
owing  to  the  destruction  of  our  Presbyterial  records,  the  Rev, 
Robert  Archibald  began  to  propagate  his  sentiments  on  the  sub- 
ject of  universal  salvation ;  and  in  two  years  after  he  was  sus- 
pended from  the  ministry  and  from  the  communion  of  the  church. 
The  first  and  only  record  we  have  of  this  matter  is  that  of  the 
Synod,  which  has  been  furnished  by  the  present  stated  Clerk, 
the  Rev.  Colin  Mclver  ;  and  is  as  follows :  «  At  the  7th  session 
of  the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas,  held  at  Steel  Creek  church,  the 
following  minute  was  made,  on  the  4th  of  October  1794. — '  The 
minutes  of  yesterday  were  read.  In  consequence  of  which.  Sy- 
nod found  that  the  Rev.  Robert  Archibald  was  on  the  catalogue 
of  the  absent  members  of  the  Orange  Presbytery — who  was 
charged,  by  public  fame,  with  preachmg  the  doctrine  of  the 
universal  restoration  of  mankind.  An  enquiry  took  place  as 
to  Mr.  Archibald's  remainiiig  a  member.  It  was  then  suggest- 
ed that,  the  Orange  Presbytery  designed  to  advise  with  Synod, 
relative  to  said  meuiber.  The  Presbytery  of  Orange  liaving 
given  to  Synod,  a  relation  of  their  procedure,  as  to  Mr.  Archi- 
bald, Synod  advised  that,  the  members  of  the  Orange  Presbyte- 
ry resolve  themselves  into  a  Presbyterial  capacity,  and  immedi- 
ately decide  on  the  atfair  of  Mr.  Archibald.  Accordingly  the 
members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Orange  constituted,  and  came  to 
the  following  decision  :  That  the  Rev.  Robert  Archibald  be  sus- 
pended  ;  and  he  is  hereby  suspended  from  the  exercise  of  his 
ministerial  office,  and  from  tlie  communion  of  our  church. — And. 
Synod  ordered  that  each  member  of  their  respective  Presbyteries 


254  LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

publish,  ill  their  own,  and  in  vacant  congregations,  the  decision 
of  Orange  Presbytery  relative  to  INIr.  Archibald,  and  warn  them 
against  the  reception  of  the  above  doctrine  ;  and  warn  them  also 
against  countenancing  or  receiving  Mr.  Archibald  as  a  minister 
of  the  gospel,  in  his  present  standing.'  " 

The  sentence  of  suspension  was  intended  to  be  disciplinary, 
by  awakening  reflection  and  giving  him  space  for  repentance  ; 
but  as  he  grew  worse  instead  of  better,  he  was  formally  deposed 
at  Mount  Bethel  church,  Nov.  24th,  1797.  This  was  done, 
"with  the  concurrence  of  the  Commission  of  Synod,  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Concord,  which  had  been  formed  in  the  mean  time, 
and  into  the  hands  of  which  he  had  fallen,  as  being  within  their 
bounds.  Mr.  Mclver,  after  stating  that  the  above  is  all  the  in- 
formation furnished  by  the  records  of  our  church,  says:  "From 
other  sources,  I  have  learned  a  few  more  facts  respecting  this 
singular  man,  which  1  must  here  furnish  from  memory.  These 
are  necessarily  unaccompanied  by  dales ;  for  the  facts  alone 
were  communicated  to  me  ; — my  informants  not  having  charged 
their  own  memory  with  the  times  of  their  occurrence.  The  first  of 
these  facts  is  probably  connected  with  what  is  referred  to  hi  one 
of  the  above  Synodical  minutes,  in  which  it  is  said  that,  'the  Pres- 
bytery of  Orange  gave  Synod  a  relation  of  their  procedure,  as  to 
Mr.  Archibald  :  The  late  Rev.  Samuel  Stanford  who  has,  some 
years  since,  gone  to  his  rest,  informed  me  that  he  was  present  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Orange  at  which  Mr.  Archibald 
■was  dealt  with,  in  relation  to  tlie  pernicious  doctrine  which  he 
had  been  propagating.  Mr.  Archibald  he  said  admitted  the 
fact  in  relation  to  the  sentiments  he  had  been  promulgating;  and 
demanded  the  privilege  of  defenaing  these  sentiments  before  the 
congregation  assembled  at  the  place  where  the  Presbytery  was 
convened.  The  Presbytery  readily  yielded  to  this  demand;  but 
at  the  same  time  made  provision  for  the  refutation  of  such  a  de- 
fence as  he  should  make.  The  Rev.  Hezekiah  Balch  who  was 
present  at  the  time,  and  sitting  with  the  Presbytery  as  a  corres- 
ponding member,  was  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  to  answer 
I\lr.  Arcliibald.  Mr.  Balch,  it  was  said,  performed  the  task  as- 
signed him  with  considerable  ability.  Among  other  things,  Mr. 
Archibald,  in  his  defence,  alleged  that  the  Calvinisfic  scheme 


LIFE  Oh-  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  2.55 

tvas  erroneous  and  illiberal,  in  making  the  door  of  salvation  ioo 
narrow,  while  his  scheme,  on  tiie  contrary,  made  it  avjjlcicnlly 
tvideio  embrace  the  vjJiole  human  race.  In  reply,  Mr.  Balch 
sarcastically  remarked  tliat  it  was  no  unusnal  tiling  for  great 
men  to  differ;  but  while  he  was  willing  to  admit  that  JNlr.  Ar- 
chibald ivas  a  great  man,  yet  the  fact  must  not  be  overlooked 
that  a  greater  personage,  in  the  main,  than  Mr.  Archibald,  had 
declared  that, '  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  tlie  way,  which 
leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it.' — Mat.  7,  14. — 
After  a  long  hearing  the  Presbytery  pointedly  condenmed  Mr. 
Archibald's  sentiments ;  and  then  referred  the  disposal  of  the 
case  to  Synod.  How  the  Synod  disposed  of  it,  the  above  ex- 
tracts sufficiently  show. 

"Two  other  facts,  or  anecdotes,!  will  mention  which  I  obtain- 
ed from  a  South  Carolina  brother,  now  no  more.  Some  Univer- 
salists,  you  know,  deny  all  future  punishment, — while  others 
admit  that  there  will  be  some  punishment,  after  death  ;  but  con- 
tend that  it  will  be  of  a  limited  duration.  It  appears  to  have 
been  this  latter  sentiment  which  Mr.  Archibald  embraced  and 
propagated.  It  is  said  that,  after  his  deposition,  he  still  contin- 
ued to  preach  wherever  he  could  get  hearers;  and  that  he  tra- 
velled considerably  in  South  Carolina,  preaching  wherever  op- 
portunity offered.  In  one  of  his  rambles  through  that  State  he 
met  with  a  shrewd  old  Irish  lady,  between  whom  and  himself 
some  such  dialogue  as  the  following  is  said  to  have  taken  place: 
Lady — '  I'm  tauld,  sir,  you  preach  that  a'  men  will  be  saved. 
Is  that  your  opinion?'  Mr.  A. — '  Yes  :  I  think  that,  after  en- 
during some  punisliment,  all  will  at  last  be  saved.'  Lady — ■ 
^  D'ye  think  that  some  will  gae  to  hell,  and  stay  there  a  while, 
and  then  come  oot  again?'  Mr.  A. — 'Yes:  that  is  iny  opinion.' 
Lady — '  And  d'ye  expect  to  gae  there  yoursel?'  Mr.  A. — '  Yes: 
I  expect  to  go  there,  for  a  time.'  Lady — '  Ah,  man !  ye  talk 
strangely :  ye're  a  guid  man,  and  a  minister.  I  wad  think  ye 
couldna  gae  there.  But  what  will  ye  gae  there  for?'  Mr.  A. — 
'I  expect  to  go  there  for  preaching  against  the  truth.'  Lady — 
<  Ah,  man  !  that's  an  unco'  bad  case.  And  hoo  lang  d'ye  expect 
to  stay  there?'  Mr.  A. — '  Just  as  long  as  I  preached  against  the 
truth.'     Lady — 'And  hoo  lang  was  that?'     Mr.   A. — 'About 


/ 


256  hlPE    OF  DAVIto  CALDWELL,  D.». 

fifteen  years.'  Lady — '  Ve'd  be  a  pretty  singed  deevil,  to  come 
oGt,  after  being  in  sae  lang  !'  " — The  other  anecdote  I  learned 
respecting  him,  related  to  the  manner  of  his  death  ;  and  it  was 
trnly  melancholy.  It  is  said  he  had  been  employed  by  some 
South  Carolina  planter,  as  a  family  tutor.  While  thus  employed, 
he  rode,  on  some  Saturday,  it  being  a  leisure  time  with  him,  to 
a  neighboring  store,  for  the  purpose  probably  of  purchasing  some 
articles  which  he  wanted.  On  his  arrival  at  the  store,  he  met 
with  a  man,  who  appeared  to  he  a  stranger  to  him,  and  who 
surprised  him  by  a  recognition,  saying,  in  the  usual  style  of  sal- 
utation, '  How  do  you  do  Mr.  Archibald  ?'  He  replied,  '  Sir, 
you  have  the  advantage  of  me.'  The  man  then  proceeded  to 
state  some  circumstances,  with  the  view,  it  would  seem,  thougli 
unwittingly,  of  refreshing  Mr.  Archibald's  memory;  and  thus 
recalling  himself,  as  it  were,  to  his  recollection.  Mr.  Archibald, 
then,  finding  his  recollection  suddenly  return  to  him,  said,  from 
a  momentary  in)pulse,  <  0,yes  !  I  ?ww  remember  you,  sir.  You 
are  the  man,  who,  some  years  ago,  iu  North  Carolina,  was  pros- 
ecuted for  forgery;  and  escaped  from  punishment  by  makings 
your  escape  from  prison.'  This,  of  course,  subjected  the  man 
to  considerable  embarassment  and  confusion  ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  put  an  end  to  the  conversation.  The  man,  however,  was 
observed  to  watch  Mr.  Archibald's  motions ;  and  soon  after  the 
latter  left  the  store,  for  the  purpose  of  returning  home,  the  other 
was  seen  to  follow  him.  On  the  next  dciy  JNIr.  Archibald's  dead 
body  was  found,  not  far  from  the  path  leading  to  the  plantation 
on  which  he  had  resided,  in  a  stream  of  running  water,  where, 
it  was  supposed,  the  murderer  had  thrown  it,  after  the  breath 
had  left  it ;  and,  it  is  added,  that,  so  low,  at  that  time,  had  his 
reputation  been  reduced,  no  coroner's  inquest  was  instituted,  nor 
any  lurther  inquiry  made,  as  to  the  cause  of  his  death." 

These  accounts  are  probably  correct  in  the  main,  but  howevei* 
tliis  may  be,  it  is  known  that  he  was  graduated  at  Princeton  in 
1772  ;  and  that  he  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  handsome  talents^ 
He  probably  studied  medicine  before  he  did  theology ;  for  he 
was  not  licensed  to  preach  until  three  years  or  more  after  he 
obtained  his  degree  at  college  ;  and  he  practised  medicine  when 
he  was  the  pastor  of  Poplar  Tent  and  Rocky  River  churched. 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  J.")  ( 

lie  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  a  very  amiable  disposilion: 
but  owing  to  domestic  trials  of  a  kind  which  few  men  can  bear, 
he  became  intemperate.  His  first  departure  from  the  faith  ol 
the  church  with  which  he  was  in  connexion,  as  I  have  been  in- 
formed by  the  venerable  Dr.  Robinsion,  who  has  been  for  many 
years  the  esteemed  pastor  of  Poplar  Tent  church,  was  into  Ar- 
miuianism  ;  but  for  one  in  his  situation,  and  destitute  as  he  pro- 
bly  was  of  vital  religion,  there  was  no  stopping  place,  and  lie 
soon  run  into  the  doctrine  of  universal  restoration.  When  he 
was  suspended  and  the  synod  directed  its  members  to  warn  the 
churches  against  receiving  him  or  his  doctrine,  the  Presbytery 
passed  a  resolution  that  every  member  of  that  body  should,  not 
only  preach  on  the  subject  in  his  own  congregation,  but  prepare 
a  sermon  on  it,  write  it  out  in  full,  and  have  it  at  the  next  stated 
meeting  to  be  submitted  to  the  inspection  of  a  committee  which 
was  appointed  for  the  purpose ;  and  it  is  also  said  that  it  was 
further  resolved  at  the  same  time  that  the  one  which  the  com- 
mittee might  judge  to  be  most  suitable,  should  be  preached  be- 
fore the  Presbytery  and  the  congregation — the  meeting  having 
been  appointed  to  be  held  in  the  church  of  which  Archibald  had 
been  pastor.  The  sermon  prepared  by  Dr.  Caldwell  was  the 
one  which  was  preached,  as  I  have  been  informed  by  those  who 
were  present  and  heard  it  delivered ;  and  this  is  the  second  ser- 
mon at  the  end  of  this  volume.  It  was  prepared  under  great 
disadvantages,  as  we  shall  see  presently;  and  was  left  by  him.; 
in  an  unfinished  state  ;  but  it  was  thought  that  something  of  the 
kind  would  be  desired  by  the  public ;  and  candid  readers  will 
make  due  allowance.  I  have  made  a  good  many  verbal  correc- 
tions; and  a  few  sentences  have  been  added  in  some  places  to 
keep  up  the  connexion  where  the  manuscript  was  mutilated ; 
but  I  am  not  conscious  of  having  altered  a  single  sentiment. — So 
far  as  has  come  to  my  knowledge  Robert  Archibald  was  the  only 
member  of  the  Orage  Presbytery,  during  the  ISth  century,  who 
was  suspended  for  heterodoxy  ;  and  Alexander  ISIcMillen,  the 
only  one  for  immorality. — Respecting  the  character  of  the  Rev. 
Jolui  Thompson,  who  removed  to  North  Carolina  about  the 
same  time  with  the  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead,  I  have  been  able 
to  obtain  no  information,  nor  to  learn  any  thincj  of  his  history. 
33 


~a8  1.IFE  OF  DAVIb  CALDWELL,  1).D. 

except  that  he  dicVnot  live  more  than  a  lew  years;  but  from  the 
incidental  notice  of  him  which  I  have  just  seen,  it  is  beUeved  that 
he  was  a  man  of  moral  worth,  and  of  respectable  standing  as  a 
minister  of  the  gospel. 

Surely  no  one  will  accuse  me  of  undue  partiality  in  saying  so 
much  about  Presbyterian  ministers  and  their  doings  in  this  State; 
for  it  is  nothing  more  than  would  be  expected  of  any  man  in 
smiilar  circumstances,  or  when  employed  in  writing  the  life  of 
a  distinguished  minister  in  the  church  to  which  he  belonged,  es- 
pecially if  the  records  of  that  church  had  all  been  destroyed,  so 
that  there"  was  no  other  way  by  which  the  religious  public  could 
obtain  the  information  thus  communicated.  The  facts  respec- 
ting the  Orange  Presbytery  contained  in  this  work  have  been 
gathered  up — here  a  little  and  there  a  little-^hj  njuch  indus- 
try and  pains-taking  over  the  country  ;  and,  it  is  believed  that 
many  of  them  are  not  known  even  to  the  members  of  that 
Presbytery.,  So  far  from  having  manifested,  or  being  conscious 
of  possessing,  any  undue  prejudices  against  other  denominations, 
I  have  said,  and  love  to  say,  every  thing  in  their  favor  that  I 
know  to  be  true ;  for  there  is  little  enough  goodness  in  the 
world,  when  it  is  all  brought  out  and  exhibited  in  its  full  pro- 
portions. 

In  some  respects  Dr.  Caldwell  was  much  blessed  in  his  fami- 
ly ;  but  in  others  he  was  severely  tried.  None  of  them  ever 
acted  in  a  v/ay  to  dishonor  him,  or  make  him,  ashamed  to  own 
that  they  were  his  children.  Three  of  his  sons  became  preach- 
ers, two  of  whom  were  very  useful  and  much  respected  in  their 
profession.  Another  has  been  for  many  years  and  is  still  living 
in  this  place,  who  is  one  of  the  most  successful  and  popular  phy- 
sicians in  the  county ;  and  the  rest  that  are  living,  though  not 
engaged  in  any  of  the  public  professions,  are  intelligent  men  and 
highly  esteemed  as  citizens;  but  his  trials  arose  from  the  afflic- 
tions with  which  several  of  his  children  were  visited. 

About  the  year  1792,  thougli  the  precise  date  is  not  recollec- 
ted, his  only  daughter  lost  the  use  of  her  reason,  when  about 
nineteen  or  twenty  years  of  age;  and,  with  one  or  two  short  in- 
tervals, she  continued  in  a  state  of  derangement  until  her  death, 
.'an.  27th,  1827.     Every  thins:  was  done  that  could  be  done  for 


LIFE  CP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  25i> 

jicr  recovery,  but  in  vain.  The  proximate  cause  of  tiiis  calami- 
ty was  dropsy  of  the  brain  ;  and  this  was  supposed  to  have  been 
occasioned  by  getting  wet  and  taking  cold  at  a  time  when  her 
health  was  peculiarly  delicate.  She  had  been  tenderly  raised; 
and  having  never  been  exposed  in  any  way,  she  was  of  course 
more  easily  atfected  than  slie  would  otlierwise  have  been.  Her 
father  took  her  twice  to  Philadelphia,  and  put  lier  under  the 
care  of  his  friend  Uoct.  Rush.  Each  time  she  was  trepanned ; 
and  for  weeks  or  months  after  the  operation,  her  reason  appear- 
ed to  be  completely  restored;  but  the  cause  had  become  consti- 
tutional ;  and  no  permanent  relief  could  be  afforded.  As  might 
be.  expected,  if  not  an  idol,  she  was  an  object  of  the  fondest  re- 
gard and  of  the  most  deep  and  tender  interest  to  her  parents  ; 
and  she  seemed  to  be  all  that  enlightened  and  sober-thinking  pa- 
rents could  desire — iiandsome,  intelligent,  accomplished,  and 
pious.  They  had  done  every  thing  for  her  education  and  im- 
provement that  was  in  their  power  ;  and  her  progress  had  been 
such  as  to  reward  their  toils  and  gratify  their  wishes.  She  was 
a  fine  classical  and  belles  lettre,s  scholar ;  and  was  well  versed  in 
all  the  branches  of  science  that  were  taught  in  her  father's  school. 
He  also  employed  a  tutoress  in  Wilmington — a  Miss  Campbell, 
and  the  daughter  of  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  who  had  gone  to 
his  restate  come  and  reside  in  his  family  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  her  the  ornamental  parts  of  female  education.  In 
addition  to  all  this,  from  the  time  she  was  old  enough  to  go 
from  home  without  her  mother,  or  to  be  benefitt(;d  by  inter- 
conrse  with  good  society,  he  was  in  the  liabit  of  taking  her 
v/ith  him  to  the  judicatories  of  the  church,  and  to  such  other 
places  as  might  contribute  to  her  improvement.  Her  piety  too 
was  remarkable  for  one  of  her  age;  for  she  had  attained  a  matu- 
rity in  religious  experience  and  christian  knowledge  that  was  un- 
common; and  she  was  a  universal  favorite  in  the  congregations. 
Of  this  the  proofs  were  abunclant  when  the  writer  came  into  this 
region  ;  for  he  found  that  the  old  people  who  had  known  her  in 
her  youlh,  loved  to  dwell  on  the  remembrance  of  what  she  had 
been,  but  could  seldom  mention  her  name,  or  attempt  to  speak  of 
her  worth,  without  the  tribute  of  a  tear.  Moreover,  when  her 
derangement  commenced  she  was  engaged,  and  would  soon  havt> 


-GO  LIFE    OF,  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

been  married,  to  a  very  popular  young  clergyman,  who  has 
since  stood  liigh  in  the  Presbyterian  church  ;  and  wlio  is  perhaps 
still  living.  The  derangement  of  such  a  daughter,  just  in  the 
lull  bloom  of  youth,  and  in  such  circumstances,  must  have  been 
a  trial  to  her  parents  which  none  but  parents  can  understand  or 
feel;  but  tlicy  had  the  consolation  to  know  that  she  had  made 
her  peace  with  God^  and  her  preparation  for  eternity,  some 
lime  before  her  probation  was  thus  ended;  and  it  was  a  conso- 
lation, which  they  were  capable  of  receiving.  She  never  shewed 
any  violence,  or  very  little;  but  always  appeared  to  be  gratified 
with  religious  conversation  and  devotional  exercises. 

In  the  course  of  two  or  three  years  after  this  melancholy  event, 
his  second  son,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Caldwell,  went  in  a  similar 
way.  He  was  considered  the  most  talented  one  of  the  family  ; 
and  had  been  married  and  settled  for  several  years  as  pastor  of 
the  church  which. had  been  vacated  by  the  deposition  of  Robert 
Archibald.  His  connexion  with  the  church  was  pleasant,  and 
his  prospects  of  usefulness  were  very  flattering,  when  he  began 
to  shew  symptoms  of  mental  alienation.  ,  These  increased  grad- 
ually until  a  separation  from-  his  pastoral  charge,  and  even  from 
his  family,  became  necessary.  He  was  taken  to  his  father's, 
wJiere  he  remained  until  his  death,  which  occurred  October  2, 
1841.  With  a  physiognomy  uncommonly  fine,  a  person  tall 
and  well  proportioned,  a  portly  gait,  and  engaging  manners,  he 
shewed  even  amid  the  wreck  of  his  mental  powers,  what  he  had 
been,  and  what  influence  he  would  have  exerted,  had  he  been 
preserved  in  the  full  exercise  of  his  faculties  ;  but  he  was  not  a 
maniac  ;  and  was  never  violent  or  troublesome.  His  derange- 
ment commenced  with  melancholy ;  and  through  life  there  Was 
\\\  his  countenance  an  air  of  pensiveness,  but  mingled  \i'\\\i  a  de- 
gree of  native  or  christian  cheerfulness,  wliich  never  failed  to 
awaken  in  every  one  who  conversed  with,  or  even  beheld  him, 
a  high  degree  of  interest.  The  habits  of  study  which  were 
formed  in  his- better  days  were  apparently  still  retained  ;  and  no 
philosopher  was  ever  more  constantly  in  his  study,  or  more  in- 
tently engaged  in  his  favorite  pursuit.  As  he  read  but  little 
however,  his  time  was  employed  in  writing  ;  and  he  left  manu- 
scripts enough  to  make  several  folio  volumes.    His  former  knowl- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  LM)l 

edge  appears  to  have  been  mostly  retained,  though  in  a  confused 
and  useless  state  ;  and  in  looking  over  these  manuscripts,  any 
one  will  have  feelings  awakened  within  him,  both  of  interest 
and  of  melancholy,  to  see  the  incoherent  operations  of  a  mind 
which  was  originally  of  a  high  order,  but  so  unhinged  and  con- 
fused that  all  its  actions  were  irregular,  and  none  of  them  in  an 
onward  direction.  His  attendance  on  preaching  was  frequent, 
though  not  constant  or  regular ;  but  he  never  failed  to  attend 
the  communions  in  Buffalo  church.  He  always  asked  a  bles- 
sing at  the  table,  no  matter  who  was  there ;  usually  led  the 
worship  in  his  brother's  family,  when  there  was  no  one  else  to 
do  it ;  and  was  as  conscientious  and  strict  in  the  performance  of 
his  private  duties  as  any  christian  in  the  land. 

But  another  trial  of  a  similar  kind  still  awaited  him ;  and  one 
"which  was  perhaps  more  ditficult  for  a  christian  parent  to  bear. 
His  seventh  son,  Ednmnd,liad,  when  aboutsi^  or  seven  yearsof 
age,  met  with  an  accident  which  mjured  the  Medulla  oblongata; 
and  this  continued  a  bleedmg  sore  until  he  was  grown,  or  nearly 
grown,  when  it  suddenly  healed  up  ot  ceased  bleeding,  and  he 
became  so  violently  deranged  that  he  was  obliged  to  beconfined- 
This  continued  with  ojily  slight  abatements  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  in  July,  183().  He  was  considered  very  promising, 
as  to  talents,  scholarship,  &c ;  but  he  had  not  given  the  same 
evidence  of  piety  with  the  other  two  ;  and  to  those  who  regard 
derangement  as  the  end  of  probation  to  the  subject  of  it,  as  most 
christians  do,  this  was  a  most  painful  reflection.  With  regard 
to  such,  however,  no  one  has  cause  to  murmur ;  for  God  has  a 
right  to  do  with  his  own  as  he  pleases ;  and  then  we  never  know 
what  he  may  do  for  one  in  such  cirQumstances,  even  in  the  last 
moments  of  life,  and  when  he  is  too  far  gone  to  let  others  know 
Avhat  is  passing  or  doing  in  the  hidden  man  of  the  heart.  These 
trials,  coming  as  they  did  in  such  quick  succession,  were  almost 
too  much  for  a  sober-thinking  and  affectionate  parent  to  bear 
without  the  grace  of  God  ;  but  the  patience  and  submission 
with  which  they  were  borne  by  Dr.  Caldwell  excited  the  admi- 
ration of  all  who  knew  him,  and  furnished  conclusive  or  very 
strong  evidence,  not  only  that  he  had  a  good  hope  for  himself, 
but  that  he  had  unbounded  confidence  in  the  goodness  and  the 


2G2  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

rightful  sovereignly  of  him  wlio  sits  upon  the  throne  of  the  Uni- 
verse. 

The  common  remark  that  "truth  is  omnipotent  and  will  pre- 
vail," has  heen  sttiUingly  verified  in  this  country,  though  it  was 
nol  hy  mi^ht  nor  hy  power,  but  by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord. — 
When  the  incubus  of  hmnan  autiiorhy  has  been  removed;  when 
the  influence  ot  tiuje-honored  institutions,  which  owed  their  ex- 
istence to  that  authority,  has  ceased  to  be  felt ;  and  when  the 
human  mind,  involved  in  darkness  and  enslaved,  as  it  is,  by  the 
god  of  this  world,  and  paralized  too  by  the  mfidelhy  which  it 
has  cheTisiied,as  well  as  by  the  worldhness  in  which  it  has  in- 
dulged, is  exposed  to  the  imadultevated  and  plain  truth  of  the 
Bible,  intelligently,  faithfully,  and  affectionately  presented,  the 
victory  will  be  certain,  and  the  triumph  will  be  glorious.  So  it 
has  been  found  in  this  land  of  freedom  ;  for  although  the  obsta- 
cles appeared  to  be  insurmountable  and  the  discouragements 
great,  the  friends  of  trutli  knew  that  the  promises  ivere  yea  and 
amen  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  •tfie  glory  of  God  the  Father.  On 
these  they  relied ;  and  they  were  not  disappointed.  Presbyte- 
rian ministers,  and  some  others,  had  believed  and  argued  that 
all  alliance  between  church  and  state  was  unfavorable  to  the  in- 
terest of  truth  and  piety ;  and  that,  if  the  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel were  now  to  go  forth,  like  those  who  were  first  commission- 
ed, clotiied  with  no  authority  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
church,  and  relying  on  no  power  but  that  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
the  results  would  be  more  like  those  of  primitive  times.  AVHiat 
tliey  jdesired  and  sought  was  obtained :  Independence  was 
achieved ;  and  all  denominations  were  left  alike  without  pa- 
tronage and  without  control  from  the  civil  government.  It  re- 
mained therefore  to  be  proved  whether  their  principles  were 
sound  and  their  expectations  well  founded  ;  and  the  results  we 
all  know;  for  they  are  before  us  in  such  richness  and  beauty 
that  we  have  notiiingto  do  but  thank  the  Lord,  take  courage, 
and  go  forward. 

The  course  pursued  by  Presbyterian  ministers,  in  the  disor- 
dered and  uninformed  state  of  the  country,  has  been  stated; 
hut  whether  it  wa«  a  judicious  one,  and  how  far  the  rich  har- 
vest since  gathered  in,  came  from  the  seed  whicii  was  then. sown* 


LIKE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D^  263 

Others  must  jridge.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  in  a  fewryears 
the  Lord  poured  out  liis  spirit  and  revived  his  work  in  a  re- 
markable manner.  There  was  a  considerable  revival  in  Guil- 
ford and  one  or  two  adjoining  counties  about  llie  year  1791, 
which  has  generally  been  called  "  McGrady's  revival,"  because 
it  took  place  under  his  labors;  but  in  1801  a  work  connnenced. 
which  was  extraordinary  in  its  character,  and  extended  over 
most  of  the  Southern  States — Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  as  well  as  North  Carolina.  When 
the  Lord  thus  revealed  his  arm,  infidelity  was  overthrown  ;  and 
truth  and  righteousness  became  triumphant.  Tiie  writnigs  of 
Paine,  Voltaire,  and  others  of  the  same  class,  which  were  more 
common  and  had  probably  more  readers  than  the  Bible,  were 
soon  banished — many  of  them  being  burned  and  others  con- 
cealed— and  now  there  is  hardly" one  of  them  to  be  found  ;  or  if 
there  be,  like  the  viper  deprived  of  his  fang,  it  is  quite  harmless. 
This  revival  commenced  in  Presbyterian  churches,  and  in  diffe- 
rent places  about  the  same  time.  Its  first  appearance  was  in 
the  church  at  the  Cross  Roads  in  Orange  county  ;  but  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord  had  evidently  been  at  work  in  other  places  for  some 
time.  In  Dr.  Caldwell's  congregations,  three  or  four  old  ladies, 
of  whom  Mrs.  Caldwell  was  one,  had  been  for  a  year  or  more, 
associating  together,  and  meeting  regularly  at  each  other's 
houses,  expressly  to  pray  for  a  revival  of  religion ;  and  some 
young  men  in  the  congregations  were  under  deep  concern  on  the 
subject  of  religion;  but  hardly  knew'what  was  the  matter,  or  were 
ashamed  to  let  their  feelings  be  known.  At  the  first  meeting, 
however,  which  they  attended,  after  the  work  commenced,  they 
obtained  a, hope  ;  and  one  of  them,  who  became  a  preacher, 
and  is  still  living,  gave  me  the  above  account  a  few  years  since. 
Other  facts  of  a  similar  kind  might  be  related  ;  but  it  is  unne- 
cessary. Both  these  revivals,  however,  extended  into  Dr.  Cald- 
well's school ;  and  brought  many  of  his  students  into  the  church 
and  ultimately  into  the  ministry. 

Whatever  may  be  said  by  the  ignorant  or  the  inconsiderate, 
the  practice  ol  the  Apostles  and  the  experience  of  the  church 
shew  tliat  a  thorough  course  of  instruction'  in  the  doctrines  of 
the  Bible  is  indispensable,  if  people  are  to  become  uitelligent 


2(i4  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

and  consistent  christians,  or  if  the  gospel  is  to  have  a  general 
and  permanent  influence  in  the  country ;  but  the  same  work 
substantially  has  to  be  done  for  every  generation  as  it  comes  up 
to  the  great  trial  or  preparation  for  eternity;  and  therefore  doc- 
trinal preaching,  or  such  an  exposition  and  defence  of  the  doc- 
trines of  grace  as  will  give  them  a  full  and  abiding  influence  on 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  especially  of  the  young,  is  after  all 
the  great  work  of  the  ministry.  Sectarian  prejudices  may  be 
excited  which,  however  efl'ectual  in  extending  a  party,  are  un- 
worthy of  intelligent  beings,  and  the  appropriate  results  of  which 
both  in  time  and  eternity,  can  be  nothing  but  evil ;  or  a  radical 
change  may  even  be  produced  in  the  principle  of  action  by  the 
divine  spirit  which  will  not  be  followed  by  consistency  of  charac- 
ter and  deportment  in  those  who  are  subjects  of  it,  because  a 
sufficient  amount  of  truth  has  not  been  presented  to  control  the 
intellectual  and  moral  powers. — The  enemy  is  ever  ready  to  sow 
tares  among  the  wheat,  when  ministers  are  too  intent  on  pushing 
forward  the  work  to  notice  him,  as  well  as  when  they  are  asleep  ; 
and  perhaps  he  is  never  more  diligent  or  more  successful  than  in  a 
time  of  revival.  Jf  there  are  more  formalists  in  ordinary  times, 
there  are  probably  more  counterfeits  and  more  stony  ground  hear- 
ers in  a  season  of  awakening,  especially  in  such  a  one  as  that  of 
which  we  are  speaking.  Although  the  revival  of  1801  was  a  gen- 
uine and  powerful  work,  enthusiasm  and  extravagance  soon  ap- 
peared, and  were  not  only  suflered  to  progress, but  were  even  en- 
couraged by  some  who  ought  to  have  known  better.  Dr.  Caldwell, 
with  some  others,  especially  on  the  west  of  the  Yadkin,  attempted 
to  lift  up  a  warning  voice,  though  in  a  very  mild  and  cautious 
way ;  and  for  this,  insinuations  were  made  by  the  enthusiastic,  or 
by  those  who  had  more  zeal  than  judgment,  that  he  was  not  a  cor- 
dial friend  to  the  work  ;  but  there  is  as  much  diflerence  between 
a  man's  being  opposed  to  a  revival  of  religion,  or  a  genuine 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  his  being  opposed  to  extravagance 
and  delusion,  as  there  is  between  the  things  themselves.  He 
outlived  these  insinuations,  however;  and  an  impartial  posteri- 
ty have  done  him  more  justice. 

From  some  facts  already  mentioned,  it  may  be  inferred  that 
Dr.  ('aid well's  standing  in  the  judicatories  of  the  church,  wa.s  at 


LIFE  OJP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  ■liu') 

least  equal  to  that  of  any  other ;  and  he  was  a  punctual  attend 
ant  on  the  meetings  of  these  judicatories  whenever  his  circum- 
stances permitted.  From  the  organization  of  the  Orange  Pres- 
bytery, or  soon  after,  he  acted  as  stated  Clerk  until  177G,  when 
he -resigned,  and  Mr.  Criswell  was  appointed  in  his  place.  When 
the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas  held  its  first  meeting,  which  was  at 
Centre  church,  in  November  1788,  a  committee  was  appohitcd, 
consisting  of  five  ministers  and  five  elders,  to  address  a  circular 
letter  to  the  chiirches  under  the  care  6f  the  Synod  ;  and  of  this 
committee  Dr.  Caldwell  was  chairman.  It  seems  to  have  been 
intended  that  the  committee  should  prepare  and. publish  it  as 
soon  as  practicable,  without  waiting  for  the  inspection  and  ap- 
proval of  Synod  ;  but  having  been  prevented  by  various  causes 
from  completing  the  task  until  near  the  time  for  the  next  stated 
meeting,  they  deferred  its  publication  until  then,  and  submitted 
it  to  the  consideration  of  that  body.  It  was  approved,  immedi- 
ately published,  and  circulated  among  the  churches ;  and  it  is 
probably  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  comprehensive  productions 
of  the  kind  belonging  to  that  period.  As  Dr.  Caldwell  was  chair- 
man ot  the  committee  he  h'a-S  been  regarded  as  the  author;  and, 
although  it  was  no  doubt  in  some  measure  a  joint  production, 
it  may  be  fairly  taken  for  granted,  according  to  universal  cus- 
tom, that  he  drew  it  up  in  Us  present  form.  If  so  it  does  liim 
great  credit,  as  any  one  must  admit  who  will  be  at  the  trouble 
to  give  it  an  attentive  perusal ;  and  it  might  be  read  by  christians 
with  much  interest  and  profii  even  at  the  present  day. 

When  the  University  went  into  operation,  as  I  have  beencredr, 
ibly  informed,  he  had  the  offer  of  the  Presidency  ;  but,  owing  to 
his  advanced  age,  and  the  afflicted  condition  oi  his  family,  he 
did  not  consider  it  his  duty  to  accept  the  appointment.  In  a 
short  time  however,  the  trustees  of  that  institution  conferred 
upon  him  the  honorary  title  of  D.D. ;  and  considering  the  prev- 
alence of  infidelity  at  that  time,  which,  it  is  said,  was  openly  a- 
vowed  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  trustees  themselves,  it  may 
be  regarded  not  only  as  a  tribute  due  to  his  merit,  but  as  deman- 
ded by  public  sentiment. 

The  life  of  Dr.  Caldwell  differed  from  that  of  most  others  be- 
iongmg  to  his  profession,  and  from  that  of  most  men  of  letters, 
34 


2C)C)  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

ill  'being  ficquenfly  forced  into  public  notoriety  and  on  a  theatre 
which  he  did  not  covet,  yet  there  were  ])eriods,  of  which  the  one 
now  under  consideration  is  an  example,  that  were  spent  in  sechi- 
sion  from  the  world ;  and  it  was  so  little  diversified  by  incidents 
of  an  hiteresting  kind,  as  to  furnisli  hardly  any  materials  for  the 
biographer.  From -the  year  1807  the  nation  was  much  excited 
on  the  subject  of  politics;  but  he  does  not  appear  to  have  med- 
dled with  them  any  farther  than  to  write  a  piece  occasionally 
for  some  of  tlie  papers,  generally  for  the  Raleigh  Star,  and  under 
a  fictitious  name.  He  was  opposed  to  the  last  war  at  its  com- 
mencemeiit ;  and  was  therefore  by  some  called  a'Federalist ;  but 
when  the  country  was  actually  involvied  in  \tar,  and  when  the 
'honor and  the  welfare  of  the  nation  were  at  stake,  he  was  ready 
to  go  any  length  in  supporting  the  government.  Of  his  patriot- 
ism and  fidelity  he  gave  all  the  proof  that  could  be  given  by  one 
of  his  age  and  in  his  circumstances ;  and  his  services  were  duly 
appreciated  by.  the  people  c(f  this  county  at  the  time.  When 
Virginia  was  threatened  with  an  invasion  by  the  British,  and 
there  was  a  call  for  men  to  go  from  this  region  to  Norfolk,  they 
assembled  the  people  at  .the  court  house,  and  beat  up  for  volun- 
teers; but  none  seemed  disposed  to-fall  into  the  ranks.  It  was 
thought  desirable  to  accomplish  the  object,  if  possible,  without 
resorting  to  a  draft;  and  for  this, purpose  Dr.  Caldwell  was  re- 
quested to  preach  6n  the^subject  in  the  court  house.  Although 
between  85  and  90  years  of  age,  he  complied  with  the  request; 
l)ut  was  so  decripid.  that  he  had  to  be  helped  up  the  steps  to  the 
Judge's  bench.  His  very  appearance  on  such  an  occasion  and 
for  such  a  purpose,  wasenough  to  inspire  the  young  and  vigorous 
with  patriotic  ardor  and  heroic  intrepidity.  He  took  for  his  text 
Luke  xxii.'  36,  last  clause  ;  and  when  he  was  done  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  gettuig  volunteers.  The  number  required  was  soon 
made  up  ;  and  might  have  been  greatly  increased.  Among  the 
rest,  a  young  Quaker,  by  the  name  of  Isaac  White,  feeling  his 
spirit  stirred  within  him,  boldly  stepped' forth  into  the  ranks  along 
with  the  foremost;  faithfully  served  his  tour  at  Norfolk ;  and 
then  rclunied  to  tliis  county  where  he  married,  settled,  and  is 
si  ill  living  in  comfort  and  respectability.  Dr.  Caldwell  lived  to 
see  peace  restored,  and  the  country  entering  anew  on  a  course  of 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  2G1^ 

prospcrit;^'  and  happiness;  but  the  nifirmities  of  age  increased 
upon  him  so  much  tliat  he  soon  relinquished  the  business  ol" 
teaching  and  all  concern  with  tlio  world.  He  continued  lo 
preach  in  his  churches  however  on  the  Sabbath,  unless  preven- 
ted by  hiclemcnt  weather,  until  about  the  j-'ear  1S20,  though 
when  he  returned  he  was  often  so  for  exhausted  that  he  had  lo 
be  carried  from  his  horse  into  the  liouse. 

Amidst  all  his  infirmities  and  depressing  circumstances  he  re- 
tained iiis  natural  cheerfalness  unimpaired  tb  the  last;  but  he 
seemed  to  lament  that  he  was  continued  here  after  hp  had  be- 
come, as  he  supposed,  useless  to  others,  and  longed  .for  the  close 
of  day  that  he  might  rest  from  his  labors  and  go  to  enjoy  the  re- 
wards which  await  every  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord.  From 
one  who  was  never  heard  to  utter  a  word  in  his  own  commenda- 
lion,  or  known  to  seek  the  applause  of  the  world,  we  could  not 
expect  to  hear  much  about  his  feeluigs  or  prospects  in  relation 
to  another  world,  especially  in  such  a  decline  of  his  physical  and 
mental  powers  as  he. now  exhibited.— We  approach  the  closing 
scene  of  such  a  man  with  no  common  feelings  of  veneration  : 
but  we  do  not  expect  to  find  in  old  age,  the  vivacity  of  youth,  the 
eager  boundings  of  hope,  or  the- bright  and  ecstatic  visions  of  one 
who,  in  « life's  early  prime,"  has  obtained  through  faith  a  victo- 
ryover  death  and  the  grave,  and  who,  in  bidding  adieu  to  earlh, 
passes  lightly  over  the  boundaries  of  time,  with  every  power  ol' 
the  soul  in  full  and  delightful  exercise.  We  expect  in  one  who 
lias  long  served  his  generation  by  the.  will  of  God  and  who  is 
about  to  be  gathered  to  his  fathers  in  peace,  the  more  extended 
views  and  the  more  steady  niovements  of  one  whose  buoyancy 
of  spirits  has  subsided  as  it  ceased  to  be  needed,  having  borne 
him  along  until  he  was  past  the  agitations  of  life,  and  whose  long 
famiharity  with  heavenly  things  has  rendered  the  change  from 
a  state  of  sin  and  imperfection  to  one  of  purity  and  bliss  almost 
ivnperceptible ;  and  so  it  was  with  the  subject  of  this  memoir; 
for  all  felt  that/Ae  end  of  tltat  man  was  peace. — His  family  of- 
ten heard  him  say,  in  the  latter  part  of  life,  that  he  had  never 
once  thought  of  being  rich  ;  but  that  his  whole  concern  bad  been 
to  be  useful  in  the  world.  For  a  few  years  before  his  death> 
\vhen  his  circumstances  here  and  Iiis  prospects  hereafter  were 


26S  LIKE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

mentioned,  his  common  remark  was  that  his  cup  was  fidl  and 
running  over.  We  have  no  ttying  expressions  of  a  remarkable 
kind  to  record;  for  as  his  whoie  course  throngli  life  had  been 
characterized  more  by  ^o/;?.§-than  by  talking,  his  state  of  mnid 
towarfls  the  close  was  exhibited  rather  than  expressed;  yet  when 
he  did  alhide  to  tije  subject  of  his  death,  his  languc:ge,  his  coun- 
tenance, and  his  whole  deporimeutfindicated  tlijB  most  perfect 
serenity,  and  tfie  most  utish.aken  andclieerful  confidence. 

For  two  or  three  years  he  was  not  off  the  plantation  until  he 
■wns  carried  to  the  place  where. Me  wicked  cease  from  troub- 
ling, and  zvher'e  the  iveary  are  at  rest.  H,e  had  neither  sick- 
ness nor  pain  ;  and  was  never  known  to  Utter  a  complaint,  or 
give  the  least  nidication  of  fretfuJness.  The  writer  was  fre- 
quently at  his  house  during  this  period  ;  and  never  saw  more 
equanimity,  patience,  and  cheerful  piety  manifested  by  any  one 
linder  similar  circumstances.  Like  most  aged  people,  he  slept 
much  ;  but  when  awake  he  was  always  ready  to  engage  witli  a 
iriend  or  an  acquaintance,  in  clieerful  and  profitable  conversa- 
tion. Thus  he  continueel  until  August  25th,  1824,  when  he  hid 
adieu  to  earth.  He  had  been  confined  to  bed  only  a  few  days  ; 
but,  when  asked,  he  always  said  he  was  neither  sick  uor  hi  pain. 
The  family"  knew  he;wa.s  dying. only  by  his  drawing  occasional- 
ly a  longer  breath  than  usual ;  but  there  was  nothing  like  a 
struggle;  not  a  limb  was  moved,  nor  a  feature  distorted ;  and, 
being  perfectly  sensible  and  able  to  talk  almost  till  the  last 
breath,  he  went  off  hke  an  infant  going  to  sleep.  Next  day  his 
remains  were  interred  in  the  burying  ground  of  Bulialo  church; 
and  the  vast  concourse  of  people  that  attended,  of  all  classes 
and  denominations,  evinced  the  universal  respect  entertained  for 
his  memory.  The  Orange  Presbytery^  at  its  nevct  stated  meet- 
ing, which  was  held  at  Buffalo  church,  passed  a  resolution  to 
have  a  sermon  on  his  death  preached  before  them  as  a  Presby- 
tery;  and  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Currie.one  of  his  old  pupils,  having 
been  appointed  to  discharge  t4iis  duty,  delivered  before  the  Pres- 
bytery and  the  congregation,  an  appropriate  and  excellent  dis- 
course on  Eccles.  vii.  \,t,l  good  name  is  better  than  precious 
ointment ;  and.  the  day  of  death  than  the  day  of  one's  birth. 

Ills  wiihnv  survived  him  less  than  a  year:  for  on  the  3d  of 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  ^GO 

June,  1S25,  her  spirit  left  this  world  to  rejoin  her  former  com- 
panion in  tribulation,  and  in  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  saints. 
For  years  she  had   said  that  her  greatest  trial  was  her  impa- 
tience to  leave  this  world  and  get  to  a  better.     This  impatience 
she  believed  to  be  wrong,  and  was  often  grieved  to  think  that  she 
was  not  completely  resinged  to  the  divhie  will ;  but  it  continued 
until  the   very  moment  of  her  discharge ;  for  almost  the  last 
thing  she  said  was, "  0,  what  hinders,  that  his  chariot  wheels  de- 
lay so  long."     She  retained  her  senses,  and  all  her  faculties  un- 
til the  last  breath ;  and  a  more  instructive  scene  than  her  death 
bed  is  seldom  witnessed.     Only  an  hour  or  two  before  she  died, 
having  perceived  that  they  were  preparing  to  make  her  burying 
clothes,  she  gave,  with  perfect  calmness  and  pleasantness,  direc- 
tions respecting  certain  parts  of  them ;  and  seemed  to  be  as  at- 
tentive to  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  those  about  her  as  if  she 
had  been  a  mhiistering  spirit  sent  from  heaven  for  the  purpose. 
Supper  being  announced,  while  her  friends  were  all  around  her, 
some  one  observed,  in  a  low  voice,  that  they  had  better  not  all 
go  at  once  ;  but  she  heard  it,  and  told  them  all  to  go  and  come 
back  again  as  soon  as  supper  was  over.     When  they  returned 
she  had  her  servants  all  called  in,  and  mentioned  by  name  the 
old  woman  who  had  nursed  most  of  her  children.     Finding  all 
present  as  she  wished,  and  feeling  that  the  time  of  her  depar- 
ture was  come,  with  quite  a  strong  voice,  she  called  upon  her 
son  Alexander,  to  engage  in  prayer,  which  he  did.     While  all 
were  thus  engaged  and  on  then*  knees,  she   asked  her  youngest 
son,  who  sat   by  her,  for   some  water.     Having  raised  up  and 
taken  it  when  presented,  she  sunk  back  into  the  bed  again ;  put 
up  her  hands  and  closed  her  own  eyes  ;  then  folded  her  arms 
across  her  breast ;  and  with  the  next  breath  meekly  resigned 
her  spirit  into  the  hands  of  her   Redeemer.     Blessed  are  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth  :   Yea,saith  the  spi- 
rit, that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors  ;  and  their  works  do 
follow  them.     Next  day  her  remains  were  interred  beside  those 
of  her  husband ;  and  a  marble  slab  with  a  simple  but  appropri- 
ate inscription  has  been  placed  over  their  graves  by  the  fomily 
and  some  individuals  in  the  Buffalo  church.     A  small  slab,  with 
a  suitable  inscription,  in  memory  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  was  also  in- 


-70  LIPE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

scried  in  the  grave-yard  wrtll  at  Alamance  church  by  the  peo])lf 
of  that  congregation ;  but  the  services  which  he  rendered  \o 
the  cIrutJi  and  to  the  country  are  his  best  and  most  enduring 
moiiumcnt. 

The  famous  reply  of  Solon,  the  lawgiver  and  philosopher  of 
Athens,  to  Croesus,  the  victorious,  proud,  and  wealthy  king  of 
Lydia,  that  no  man  should  be  accounted  happy  before  his  death, 
though  partly  true — perhaps  true  to  the  full  extent  of  his  mean- 
ing, or  of  his  knowledge  of  tiiat  in  which  happiness  consists, — 
and  tliough  it  has  been  much  admired  as  a  check  upon  the  pre- 
sumptuous hopes,  and  a  safeguard  to  the  repiUable  conduct  of 
men,  in  this  world, — contained  no  assurance  tliat  the  philoso- 
pher himself,  or  any  other  man,  would  certainly  be  happy  afler 
death;  but  the  gospel  does  give  such  assurance,  and  in  a  way 
that  leaves  no  doubt  on  the  minds  of  those  who  receive  it  as  a 
revelation  from  God.  It  teaches  us  that  no  mkn  is  or  can  be 
2^trfecthj  happy  before  death ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  afiirms 
most  explicitly,  and  in  every  variety  of  form,  that  those  who 
are  reconciled  with  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  shall,  when  their 
course  on  earth  is  finished,  be  received  into  complete  and  ever- 
lasting rest. 

The  evidence  on  which  mc  expect  the  future  happiness  of  any 
individual  must  be  found  in  his  life  ;  and  that  evidence  we  think 
was  furnished  abundantly  by  the  subject  of  this  memoir  through 
a  long  course  of  piety  .and  usefulness.  After  the  sketch  that  has 
been  given  of  his  life,  the  cast  of  his  mind  and  the  leading  traits 
of  his  character,  may  be  readily  perceived.  There  was  perhaps 
no  one  quality,  mental  or  moral,  which  made  him  conspicuous 
above  every  body  else,  and  no  one  branch  of  learning  or  of  bu- 
sinets  in  which  lie  excelled  all  other  men — unless  it  was  the  bu- 
siness of  teaching,  in  which,  it  is  believed,  he  had  few  equals, 
and  no  snperiors;  but  his  excellence  and  consequently  his  use- 
fulness consisted  in  a  combination  of  qualities,  physical,  intellec- 
tual, and  moral,  which  rendered  liim  one  of  the  most  usefnl  men 
of  the  age  and  country  in  wliich  he  lived.  When  in  his  prime 
his  slature  was  above  the  medium  size,  being  a  little  over  six 
feet;  his  attitude  erect  and  firm :  and  his  frame  muscular  and 
YJuorous.     His  constitution  was  not  onJv  sound  and  his  health 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  :27l 

uninterrupted,  but  his  habits  of  business  and  oi'  study  kept  all 
his  powers  of  body  and  mind  in  constant  and  liealthful  exercise. 
His  recreation  was  nolliing  more  than  a  change  of  employ  iiient, 
as  the  study,  which  he  occupied  night  and  morning,  was  ex- 
changed at  the  proper  hour  for  the  school  room ;  in  the  evening 
that  was  exchanged  for  the  meadow,  the  garden,  or  a  visit  to 
llie  sick ;  and  when  the  day  of  rest  came  all  were  exchanged 
for  the  more  important  exercises  of  the  pulpit.  There  was  not 
only  a  habitual  cheerfulness  in  nis  disposition  and  intercourse 
with  society,  but  he  had  an  exhaustless  fund  of  humor.  When 
a  young  man,  the  young  people  of  his  neighborhood  dreaded 
his  wit,  though  it  was  always  of  a  pleasant  kind  ;  and  a  similar 
remark  may  be  made  respecting  his  congregations ;  but  notwith- 
standing this  propensity,  it  is  said  tliat  he  never  lost  a  friend  ; 
for  if  he  once  gained  a  man's  affections  or  confidence,  if  he  was 
a  man  of  principle,  no  ahenation  or  change  took  place  after- 
wards. 

A  physician  in  a  neighboring  county  who  had  been  one  of  his 
pupils,  and  had  a  very  high  regard  for  his  character,  used  to  say 
in  his  witty  and  jocose  manner,  that,  if  he  were  to  meet  "  Old 
Domine "  in  heaven  he  would  scare  at  him;  and  this  was 
merely  a  singular  way  of  expressing  what  was  generally  felt; 
for  there  was  that  about  him  which  commanded  the  respect,  not 
only  of  his  scholars,  but  of  all  who  were  well  acquainted  witli 
him ;  and  the  more  intimate  the  acquaintance  the  more  sincere 
was  the  respect  which  it  inspired.  Whether  he  had  a  mind 
which,  under  more  favorable  circumstances,  would  have  made 
improvements  in  science  or  philosophy,  and  extended  the  boun- 
daries of  human  knowledge,  cannot  now  be  known  ;  for  his  time 
was  too  much  occupied  in  communicating  what  he  had  acquired; 
but  those  who  knew  him  well  and  were  good  judges,  say  that 
he  had  a  capacity  for  almost  every  thing;  for  he  could  learn 
with  great  facility  every  thing  he  attempted  ;  and  what  he  once 
learned  he  never  lost.  His  thirst  for  knowledge  was  great ;  and 
to  acquire  it  he  spared  neither  toil  nor  expense.  He  was  gener- 
ous almost  to  a  fault ;  for  while  his  price  of  tuition  was  low,  .jSlO 
or  Sl2  per  annum,  he  often  made  no  charge,  especially  for  young 
ii\Q\\  who  were  preparing  for  the  ministry;  and  ^encrallij  they 


272  LXFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

who  came  either  to  beg  or  borrow  were  not  sent  empty  away. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  never  known  to  be  in  a  passion,  to  shew  a 
revengeful  spirit,  or  to  lose  his  self  possession  ;  but  the  most 
striking  trait  in  his  character,  perhaps,  was  that  of  overcoming 
evil  with  good  ;  and  so  much  was  this  a  habit  with  him  as  to 
give  rise  and  currency  to  the  remark  that  no  man  ever  did  Ur. 
Caldwell  an  injury  without  receiving  some  expression  of  kind- 
ness in  return.  Such  a  man  could  not  live  in  vain  :  and  he,  be- 
ing dead,  yet  speaketh. 


S  K  R  JM  O  N    I . 

THE  CHARACTER  AND  DOOM  OF  THE  SLUGGARD. 


Prov.  xii.  24. — But  the  slothful  shall  be  under  tribute. 

Paying  tribute  or  ta.x  is  an  acknowleflgementof  sul'jcction  and  drpcnder.ce; 
flnd  is  opprohrioiJ.=;  or  not,  according  to  the  circumstances  under  wliich  it  is 
paid.  When  we  pay  a  tax  to  the  support  of  a  government  whose  constitu- 
tion we  apprjve  and  in  wliose  measures  we  liave  a  voice,  it  is  paid  clieerful- 
ly  ;  and  tlioii  wo  aie  more  tlian  compensated  by  Uir  per.«onal  security  and  by 
the  faeiiities  for  improvement  wliich  it  nffunls;  but  still  it  i^an  ecknowlcdge- 
menl  of  dependence  upon,  or  of  subjection  to,  that  government.  When  it  is 
piid  to  a  foreign  government;  and  especially,  if  it  be  paid  from  com pul.^ion, 
and  not  from  choice,  it  is  always  considered  ns  degrading.  Thus  the  Jews 
considered  the  tribute  which  they  paid  at  difieicnt  periods  of  their  history  to 
the  surrounding  nations  ;  and  finally,  to  the  Roman  government.  So  all  na- 
tions in  all  ages  have  viewed  the  payment  of  tribute  by  compulsion,  whether 
it  was  paid  to  their  own  rulers,  or  to  those  of  another  nation;  and  lhi.-j  arises 
from  that  innate  love  of  liboity  which  belongs  to  all  men,  as  well  as  to  their 
sense  of  justice  and  propriety;  for  the  exaction  from  a  people  of  a  tribute 
more  than  they  themselves,  when  properly  informed,  admit  to  be  necessary  to 
enable  the  government  to  give  adequate  protection  to  their  persons  and  pro- 
perty, no  matter  by  whom  it  is  done,  is  felt  to  be  a  violation  of  justice  ;  and 
tlie  government  which  v/ill  make  such  exactions  from  downright  avarice,  or 
fur  ambitious  purposes,  is  not  guided  by  a  fair  appreciation  of  the  rights  of 
mankind,  or  by  those  benign  principles  which  alone  can  render  its  operation 
acceptable  and  salutary  to  the  governed. 

When  an  individual  is  said  to  be  under  tribute,  as  in  the  text,  the  meaning 
is  that  he  is  in  a  degraded  state  of  subjection  to,  and  dependence  upon,  those 
around  iiini;  and  such,  we  are  here  told,  will  be  the  condition  of  the  slug- 
gard. We  are  so  constituted  that  vigorous  and  well  directed  exertion  is  ne- 
cessary to  the  attainment  of  anything  that  is  valuable;  and  all  the  powers 
we  possess,  bodily  and  mental,  ought  to  be  employed  assiduously  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  end  for  which  they  were  given.  The  powers  with  which  we  are 
endowed  are  various ;  but  the  employments  for  which  they  are  required  are 
al-o  variou.-:;;  and  it  is  not  important  in  what  way  we  are  employed,  provided 
it  be  at  somelliing  that  is  right  and  useful.  If  we  refuse  to  exercise  these 
powers  in  the  u-ay  in  which  it  was  designed  we  should  exercise  tlicm,  we 
mn?t  remain  d<\sfifutc  of  that  which  would  be  obtained  by  a  proper  industry  ; 
35 


•  ^74  LIFE    OV  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

and  this  neglect,  and  the  consequent  destitution,  may  be  either  partial  or  total. 
For  cxampie:  a  certain  degree  of  bodily  exercise  is  necessary  to  iiealth ;  but 
if  we  neglect  that  exercise  we  must  want  the  health  and  vigor  which  might 
oiiierwise  be  enjoyed.  The  acquisition  of  knowledge  depends  upon  a  diligent 
ute  of  the  means  and  the  due  exercise  of  our  mental  faculties;  but  if  we  re- 
fuse to  take  this  course,  we  must  remain  in  ignorance.  Industry,  as  to  the 
things  of  this  world,  is  necessary  to  obtain  the  means  of  subsistence  and  the 
comforts  of  life  ;  but  if  we  refuse  to  labor,  vve  must  remain  in  poverty  and 
wretchedness.  We  arc  surrounded  by  enemies  and  dangers  of  various  kinds; 
and  to  avoid  being  overconie,  both  vigilance  and  efTorts  are  necessary;  but  if 
we  refuse  to  watch  and  to  take  the  proper  precautions,  or  to  defend  ourselves 
when  attacked,  captivity  or  ruin  will  be  the  certain  consequence. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  word  which  is  rendered  slothful,  in  the  text,  ought 
to  be  rendered  deceitful,  or  fraudulent  ;  but  we  need  not  detain  you  with  any 
critical  remarks  in  order  to  settle  that  point,  as  the  two  characters  are  very 
much  alike;  for  we  generally  find  that  the  deceitful  and  fraudulent  are  indo- 
lent too  ;  and  there  are  certainly  some  of  the  same  elements  in  both.  As  it 
stands  it  answers  better  also  to  the  antithesis  in  the  first  pan  of  the  verse. 
The  hand  of  the  diligent  shall  bear  rule;  but  the  .slothful  shall  be  under 
■j'RiiruTE,  Besides  there  are  many  other  passages,  both  in  the  Old  aud  New 
Testament,  and  especially  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  of  the  same  import,  and 
about  wiiich  there  is  no  dispute. 

A  man  may  be  so  intent  upon  gain,  or  so  absoiljed  in  scientific  or  literary 
pursuits,  or  so  engaged  in  something  else  that  is  lawful  and  even  important  in 
its  nature,  as  to  neglect  his  health,  and,  not  only  become  the  subject  of  debil- 
ity and  disease,  but  go  down  to  a  premature  grave.  The  effect  in  this  case  is 
owing,  not  to  indolence,  but  an  imprudent  or  a  too  eager  pursuit  of  the  object; 
yet  indolence  will  be  followed  by  the  same  result;  for  in  both  cases  the  laws 
of  our  physical  nature  are  violated  in  a  similar  way.  We  need  not  enquire 
whether  there  is  any  culpability  in  the  former  case;  for  that  depends  on  cir- 
cumstances, and  is  not  necessary  to  our  purpose.  It  is  with  the  sluggard  we 
have  to  do  at  present ;  and  for  him  there  is  no  apology.  While  he  is  impair- 
ing his  health  and  shortening  his  days  by  his  inactivity  and  sloth,  ho  is  gain- 
ing nothing  in  any  other  way,  and  must  therefore  be  chargeable  with  his  own 
niiseiy  and  ruin.  To  say  nothing  of  the  injury  to  his  health  from  inattention 
to  cleanliness  and  from  the  want  of  fresh  and  wholesome  air,  which  is  very 
great,  the  laws  of  our  physical  existence  require  frequent  and  regular  exer- 
cise; and  without  it  the  vitality  of  the  system  will  hnguish  and  its  energies 
become  impaired.  As  the  door  turneth  upon  his  lunges,  so  doth  the  sluggard 
irpoii  his  bed — turning  from  one  side  to  the  other,  but  still  remaining  in  the 
fiamo  place.  The  slothful  hideth  his  hand  in  his  bosom  :  It  grievcth  him 
to  bring  it  again  to  his  mouth — that  is,  tiic  slightest  exertion  is  irksome  to 
him;  and  he  neglects,  not  only  the  muscular  exertion  necessary  to  health, 
hut.  to  make  suitable  provision  lor  his  nourishment.  Such  a  man  cannot  enjoy 
the  health  and  vigor  of  other  people;  nor  have  the  same  number  of  days  to 


LIFE  OP  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  275 

live;  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  vve  always  find  that  those  who  live  lonj  upon 
the  earth  are  people  of  regular  and  active  habits. 

If  the  sliignard  commences  in  poverty  he  will  remain  poor;  and  if  he  com- 
mences rich  he  will  become  poor.  He  may  desire  wealth  and  comfort,  but 
his  desire  killeth  him  ;  for  "  his  hands  refuse  to  labor."  lie  may  "  covet  srnc- 
dily  all  the  day  long- ;"  but,  while  "  the  riirhtcous  have  enough  and  to  spare,"' 
he  is  in  want.  While  many  a  man,  who  began  life  poor,  has  become  rich  by 
honest  but  persevering-  industry,  many  a  finn  estate  has  been  wasted  by  sloth 
and  inattention.  The  slothful  man  saith  there  is  a  lion  in  the  way:  a  lio7i 
is  in  the  streets, — that  is,  in  the  very  places  where  he  ought  to  be  at  work,  or 
attending  to  his  business ;  and  the  amount  of  it  is  that  he  is  ready  to  make 
any  excuse,  and  will  indulge  his  sloth  upon  any  terms.  The  consequence  is 
that,  if  he  has  a  farm,  it  is  in  disorder,  and  becoming  vvaste.  /  went  by  the 
field  of  the  slothful,  and  by  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void  of  understanding. 
And  In,  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns,  and  nettles  had  covered  the  face 
thereof,  and  the  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken  doion.  To  an  observing  and 
reflecting  man  this  was  a  source  of  instruction.  Then  I  saio,and  considered 
ilioell:  I  looked  upon  it  and  received  instruction.  The  amount  of  it  was, 
that  while  the  man  was  saying  to  himself,  Yel  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 
a  hale  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep,  his  poverty  was  seen  coming  as  one 
that  travelleth,  and  his  want  as  an  armed  man.  If  he  is  a  tradesman,  or  a 
merchant,  and  neglects  his  business,  his  customers,  his  debts,  or  any  thing  be- 
longing to  his  occupation,  the  same  result  will  follow.  Sloth  is  usually  at 
the  bottom  of  all  negligence,  disorder,  or  bad  management  in  business;  and 
there  is  more  sloth  among  us,  and  more  of  the  evils  resulting  from  it,  proba- 
bly, than  many  of  you  have  ever  supposed. 

But  these  are  not  all  the  evils,  nor  the  worst  evils  to  which  the  sluggard  is 
subject;  for  those  of  a  mental  and  moral  kind  are  much  more  seiious  in  their 
nature  and  their  consequences.  A  certain  amount  of  knowledge  is  necessa- 
ry to  a  man's  welfare,  here  and  hereafter;  and  the  more  knowledge  he  has 
the  better,  if  he  makes  a  right  use  of  it;  for  then  his  satisfaction  and  his  use 
fulness  will  be  in  the  same  proportion.  But  even  that  amount  of  inlolligcnco 
which  will  enable  him  to  understand  his  own  interest,  and  make  liim  acquain- 
ted with  the  duties  which  he  owes  to  God  his  Maker,  and  to  his  fellow  beings, 
requires  a  diligent  use  of  the  means  of  knowledge,  and  much  reflection  on 
what  he  reads  or  acquires  in  any  way.  He  may  be  very  positive  or  dogmati- 
cal in  his  opinions,  without  being  able  to  tell  why  he  entertains  them;  and  is 
positive  just  because  he  is  ignorant.  The  sluggard  is  wiser  in  his  own  con 
ceil  than  seven  men  that  can  render  a  reason.  Seven  was  considered  as  tlie 
number  of  perfection  among  the  Jews,  and  being  in  common  use  it  vvas  often 
employed  by  the  inspired  writers,  as  it  was  by  the  people  to  whom  tlicy 
wrote,  to  express  the  whole  class  of  persons  or  objects  to  which  it  was  applied  ; 
nnd  by  "seven  wise  men"  was  therefore  meant  all  the  wise  men  in  the  world. 
The  sluggard  thinks  he  is  wiser  than  any  body  else;  and  this  slate  of  mind, 
in  addition  to  his  aversion  to  any  proper  exercise  of  his  menial  powers,  keeps 


'i7G  LIKE  OK  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

Jjim  in  ignorance.  While  the  due  exercise  of  all  onr  powers,  mental  and  phy- 
sical, is  the  only  condition  on  which  our  present  and  future  welfare  can  he  se- 
cured, of  which  we  are  expressly  informed  by  the  great  and  good  Being  who 
gave  us  existence,  and  the  proof  of  which  is  manifest  every  where  around  us; 
he  who  will  not  comply  with  the  laws  of  his  being  and  fulfil  the  on'y  condition 
on  which  his  welfare  is  attainable,  must  become  a  certain  prey  to  '-all  the  ills 
that  flesh  is  heir  to;"  for  if  he  is  not  aware  of  these  evils  how  can  he  escanc 
them  J  If  he  is  ignorant,  how  can  he  know  in  v.-hat  they  consist,  or  in  what 
direction  they  will  cosue?  or  if  he  does  not  know  the  tliinjjfs  that  make  for  his 
pence,  how  can  he  seek  them,  though  ever  so  anxious  1  Knowledge,  like  ev- 
ery thing  else  that  is  good,  is  the  reward  of  industry ;  and  if  we  would  obtain 
it,  we  must  prize  it  above  gold  and  silver,  and  seek  for  it  as  for  hidden  treas- 
ure. The  slothful  man  cannot  know  in  what  his  true  interest  consists;  nor 
become  properly  acquainted  with  his  duties  to  God  and  to  liis  fellow  man. — 
Of  course  he  cannot  an.^wer  the  end  of  his  creation  by  honoring  God  and  be- 
ing useful  in  the  world  ;  and  as  he  contributes  nothing  to  the  welfare  of  the 
community  in  which  he  lives,  by  bearing  his  portion  of  its  burdens,  or  by 
aiding  to  support  those  princit'les  and  to  carry  out  those  plans  of  improve- 
ment on  which  its  good  order  and  nrosperify  deprnd,  lie  must  be  despised  by 
all  the  wise  and  good.  The  sliiifgard,  as  a  worthless  being,  destitute  of  mer- 
it, anddoin<i  no  good  to  himself  or  any  body  else,  is  as  really  an  object  of  re- 
probation as  the  miser,  the  spendthrift,  or  the  highway  robber;  and  the  bles- 
sings which  he  fore^ioes  and  the  evils  which  he  brings  upon  himself,  here, 
are  but  furerunners  ol  the  heiivi-T  losses  which  he  will  sustain,  and  the  more 
insufTerable  woes  which  he  will  bring  upon  hinif-elf  hereaf\.er;  for  the  un- 
profitable servant  will  be  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  into  outer  darkness 
where  no  ray  of  comfoit  can  ever  cast  even  a  momentary  radiance  over  the 
gloom,  and  where  there  is  weeping,  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth  forever. 
The  evils  which  he  is  bringing  upon  himself  here  aie  those  of  privation  and 
of  suffering:  tl;ey  are  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral;  and  increasing,  as 
they  are,  from  day  to  duy,  both  in  number  and  degree,  they  can  be  regarded 
only  as  the  beginning  of  sorrows. 

We  have  seen  that  while  the  sluggard  is  imp  tiring  his  health  and  shorten- 
ing his  days,  he  is  wasting  his  estate,  or  depriving  himself  of  blessings  and 
privileges  which  he  might  otherwise  enjoy  ;  and  is  not  only  acting  in  a  man- 
ner very  simil.ir  to  tiiat  of  the  most  prodigal  spendthrift,  but  is  pm.-uing  to- 
wards himself,  and  perhaps  others  also  who  may  be  dependent  on  hiin,  a  per- 
fectly suicidal  course.  God  hath  declared  that  "  he  is  brother  lo  him  that  is  a 
great  waster;"  and  that  he  "who  sleeps  in  summer  shall  beg  in  harvest," 
exposing  himself  to  poverty,  shame,  and  misery. 

As  he  will  not  disturb  his  ease  that  ho  may  ficcome  ncquainted  with  his  du- 
ty lo  God,  or  learn  upon  what  terms  the  divine  favor  may  be  obtained,  and 
what  will  be  the  consequence  of  neglecting  to  comply  with  those  terms,  nei- 
ther will  he  take  the  trouble  to  ascertain  what  is  due  to  him  from  his  fellowmen, 
ut  whatheows  to  them.     Ilencc  being  deficient  in  hisdiUy  to  his  God,  his  king 


tlKE  OP  DAVID  CALDWKLL,  D.I).  277 

and  his  country,  he  not  only  becomes  an  easy  prfy  to  every  bold  intruder  who 
is  either  desirous  ot'g-ain  or  grreedy  of  power,  but  is  exposed  to  all  the  evils,  of 
whatever  kind,  that  can  come  upon  him  from  those  towards  whom  he  has  vio- 
lated his  ohlij;ntions.  While  he  is  spcndinjj  or  losing-,  by  his  ijjiiorance  and 
sloth,  the  inheritance  that  has  been  handed  down  from  his  preilecessors,  per- 
haps throutrh  a  number  of  gener.itions,  with  all  the  temporal  cnmlbrfs  which 
it  mifflit  have  afForded,  or  is  npnlecTin<,'  to  acipiire  ilie  means  of  comfort  and 
respectability  which  a  kind  Providence  has  placed  willnn  the  reach  of  his  in- 
dustry, the  ambitious  and  the  covetous,  those  tyrants  of  the  human  race  and 
pests  of  society,  view  hi.n  as  an  ohject  lit  for  their  purposes,  and  mark  him  for 
tlieir  prey,  believing-  that  his  ifjnorance  will  screen  them  from  his  notice,  and 
that  his  indolence  will  make  him  perfectly  submissive,  or  prevent  that  vig-i- 
lance  and  exertion  on  his  part  which  are  necessary  to  his  safety.  'J'hus  they 
are  encouraged  to  make  the  experiment ;  aud  they  too  often  succeed.  Iferc 
your  own  memories  may  easily  suofrrest  examples,  both  in  public  and  in  firi- 
vate  life,  in  which  the  weak,  the  ignorant,  and  the  slothtul  were  out-witted 
and  imposed  on,  defrauded  and  subjunr-ated,  by  some  unprincipled  villain  or 
other,  who  was  destitute  alike  of  honor,  humanity,  and  every  thiny  else  that 
could  entitle  him  to  the  resuect  and  affections  of  his  fellow  men;  and  ot  such 
the  world  is  lull. — But  as  the  slugij-ard  is  s^o  reckless  as  to  de.-troy  his  soul, 
body,  and  estate,  it  is  almost  a  matter  of  course  that  he  Vv'ili  so  undci  value  his 
civil  and  religious  liberties  as  to  lose  them  in  the  same  way. 

Were  he  careful  to  examine  into  the  rights  ol  society  and  to  ascertain  wiiat 
each  individual  parts  with,  for  the  sake  of  the  government,  the  aggregate  of 
which  is  the  royal  prerogative,  and  is  committed  into  the  hands  of  the  su- 
preme magistrate  to  be  exercised  for  the  public  good,  he  would  easily  see 
when  his  civil  liberties  were  secure,  or  when  endangered  by  the  attempts  of 
ambitious  and  designing  men ;  but  he  does  not  consider  that  the  king,  as  sucli, 
is  created,  protected,  end  supported  by  tlie  Stale  ;  and  that  all  his  acts  sliould 
therefore  promote  the  public  good.  While  the  sluggard  continues  ignorant 
of  these  leading  principles,  no  wonder  if  he  is  easily  awed  into  slavery,  stoops 
his  shoulders  to  the  burden,  becomes  a  servant  to  tribute,  and  yields  to  all  the 
unjust  demands  of  usurped  prerogative. 

In  acting  thus,  however,  he  is  an  enemy,  not  only  to  himself,  but  also  to  his 
children.  Can  this  be  possible!  you  will  say.  Can  he  divest  himself  of  hu 
rnaiiity!  Can  he  lay  aside  the  tender  feelings  of  a  parent!  Can  he  forget 
the  civil  interests  of  his  children  !  Can  he  expose  his  helpless  infants  to  tiie 
lavvless  demands  of  tyranny,  and  to  all  the  cruelties  of  despotism  !  Can  ho 
be  so  infatuated  as  to  ruin  his  tender  offspring  by  surrendering  their  liberty 
and  property  into  the  hands  of  those  who  exercise  usurped  prerogative ! —I 
■would  say  it  was  impossible,  if  incontestable  facts  did  not  prove  the  contrary. 
Who  are  capable  of  such  blackened  crimes?  who  can  deliberately  ruin  him- 
self and  his  children  at  oncuJ  the  slvggard;  and  whoever  else  may  do  the 
same  thing  frcm  other  principles  or  in  other  ways,  the  sluggard  is  sure  to  do 


27S  LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.I>^ 

it,  in  vvlioin  ignorance,  disregard  of  moral  obligation,  and  a  supreme  love  of 
ease  are  inseparably  united. 

Should  such  a  monster  of  human  society  appear  at  a  time  when  the  royal 
prerogative  is  extended  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason,  or  the  just  limits  of  the 
constitution,  would  he  act  the  champion  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  bravely  with- 
stand the  shocks  of  an  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  i^overnmen^,  and  bid  defiance 
to  all  the  illicit  requirements  of  de-potism "?  Would  he  vindicate  the  cause 
of  political  truth,  and  firmly  resolve  to  tiansmit  to  his  infant  sons  the  fair  in- 
heritance of  liberty?  The  answers  to  these  questions  I  beseech  you  to  con- 
ceal. Let  not  the  friends  of  the  constitution,  or  the  "Sons  of  Liberty,"  know 
thatsuch  an  enemy  to  the  common  interestsof  mankind  anywhere  exists,  lest 
their  patriotic  zeal  should  raise  undue  resentment  and  cause  it  to  burst  upon 
his  devoted  head — conceal,  I  pray  you,  conceal  it  from  his  unoffending  family: 
— add  not  infamy  and  disgrace  to  their  bondage  and  oppression.  It  will  be 
enough,  and  more  than  enough,  for  them  to  answer  the  demands  of  tyranny, 
and  the  lawless  requisitions  of  an  unprincipled  minister,  if,  for  lack  of  courage 
and  firmness,  the  chains  of  slavery  should  be  now  fastened  upon  us.  Alas, 
Ihey  must  groan  out  their  days  in  lamentation  and  wretchedness,  suflTering 
whatever  a  corrupt  minister,  or  ministerial  tools,  can  invent;  and  tamely  sur- 
render all  that  is  most  dear  and  valuable  to  the  demands  of  avarice  and  the 
menaces  of  power.  Let  thorn  not  know  that  their  bondage  and  degradation 
must  be  ascribed  to  the  ignorance  and  indolence  of  their  progenitors,  who, 
from  cowardice  or  the  love  of  ease,  tamely  surrendered  all  that  was  their  ovvn 
and  all  that  should  have  been  their  children's,  into  the  hands  of  a  popish  mi- 
nister or  an  infatuated  senate.  This  would  sink  their  sinking  spirits  still 
lower,  and  add  infamy  and  shame  to  poverty  and  oppression.  Let  oblivion 
spread  her  dark  veil  over  their  ignoble  principles  and  unmanly  conduct,  who, 
for  a  little  ease,  or  the  hope  of  securing  a  trifling  estate,  or  some  mere  selfish 
advantage  of  comparatively  small  value  and  short  duration,  would  resign  their 
own  and  their  children's  liberty,  overturn  the  cor.stiiuiion,  and  expose  them- 
selves, with  their  posterity,  born  or  unboin,  to  the  griping  paw  of  arbitrary 
power. 

When  men  of  this  cliaractor,  ambitious  and  unprincipled,  are  a  majority  in 
tlie  State,  or  have  the  control  of  public  affiirs,  what  unjust  prosecutions,  what 
fchipwrecks  of  property,  what  fines,  confiscations,  and  imprisonments,  the  black 
Jiistory  of  some  former  inauspicious  reigns  fully  manifest.  I  refer  to  the  time 
when  a  set  of  slothf;!!  and  unprincipled  wretches  disgraced  the  British  Senate, 
suflcring  the  Council  Table,  Star  Chamber,  and  High  Commissioners  to  en- 
gross almost  the  whole  power  of  making  and  executing  tlie  laws — at  which 
time  they  enforced  their  loans,  benevolences,  and  ship-money,  by  iilfgal  pros- 
ecutions, intolerable  fines,  and  long  imprisonments,  to  the  ruin  or  serious  injury 
of  the  nation;  for  vast  multitudes  of  tiie  most  industrious,  upright,  and  valua- 
ble citizens  left  the  country;  and  with  all  classes  there  was  a  want  of  confi- 
dence in  the  government; — while  tiie  disregard  of  moral  honesty  and  good 
faith  manifested  by  the  men  in  power,  and  the  temptations  held  out  to  the  am- 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  :>li) 

bilious  and  covetous  to  stifle  conscience  and  trample  on  tlio  rijrlits  ot  justice 
and  humanity,  produced  a  general  deterioration  ofmoral  principle. 

The  sin  and  danger  ofslotli,  in  relation  to  our  civil  liberty,  or  of  yielding  to 
the  unjust  demands  of  arbitrary  power,  is  further  evident  from  the  fact  that 
those  in  high  life,  or  who  administer  the  government,  have  all  the  allurements 
by  which  to  turn  the  active  spirits  of  the  age,  and  cause  them  to  act  in  con- 
cert with  themselves.  Some  they  bring  over  by  promoting  them  to  high 
stations;  some  by  pains  and  penalties;  some  are  influenced  by  the  apprehen- 
sion of  not  being  able  to  obtain  justice  aui!  of  losing  wiiat  little  they  have; 
some  are  brought  into  subjection  and  held  fast  through  a  kind  of  depravity  in 
their  understanding,  not  distinguishing  between  reasonable  taxation  and  op- 
pression ;  while  others  seem  to  have  so  mucii  infidelity  in  their  make  that  they 
ft'ill  not  believe  what  all  mankind  assert,  and  will  hardly  belive  the  testimony 
of  their  own  senses. 

But  the  sluggard  from  mere  indolence,  or  from  an  aversion  to  excrtinir  him- 
self in  any  way,  will  not  observe  these  matters,  nor  inquire  into  what  is  con- 
ducive to  his  own  and  his  children's  safety  and  happiness.  He  would  rather 
stoop  his  shoulders  and  take  on  him  the  whole  load  of  oppression  and  slavery, 
with  all  their  train  of  privations  and  hardships.  Were  these  evils  confined  to 
the  persons  and  families  of  such  indolent  wretches  it  would  be  more  tolerable  ; 
but,  alas!  posterity,  in  all  its  extent  and  in  its  distant  generations,  may  feel 
the  burden,  made  more  insupportable  by  repeated  additions. — France  and 
Spain,  yea,  all  the  enslaved  nations  ot  Europe,  can  bear  witness  that  it  was 
the  sluggish  disposition  of  their  remote  predecessors,  and  the  inactivity  ofeuc- 
ceeding  ages,  which  introduced,  increased,  and  perfected  their  present  bond- 
age— a  bondage  which  makes  them  to  this  day  groan  under  a  load  that  it  is 
not  likely  they  or  their  children  will  be  able  to  throw  off. 

Had  our  forefathers  in  England  given  up  the  cause  of  liberty  and  indulged 
in  sloth,  or  inglorious  ease,  when  popish  recusants,  assisted  by  the  French, 
and  headed  by  an  angry  and  disappointed  Prince,  attempted  our  subjugation  and 
ruin,  we  should  have  been  under  the  domination  of  popery,  and  exposed  to  aU 
its  persecuting  tenets; — to  slavery,  and  all  its  poverty  and  wo.  Attempts 
have  been  often  made,  since  the  reformation,  to  introduce  popery  and  slavery 
into  the  British  nation  ;  but  they  were  always  resolutely  and  successfully 
withstood.  Charles  I,  prompted  and  sustained  by  his  alliance  witii  France, 
the  depravity  of  his  understanding,  and  his  uxorious  obedience  to  his  popish 
queen,  encouraged  popery  in  his  kingdom;  and  those  who  professed  the  pro- 
testant  religion  were  both  oppressed  and  persecuted.  At  this  time  tiie  British 
parliament  was  adorned  by  men  of  honesty,  zeal  and  activity,  who  effected 
such  prodigious  revolutions  in  churcii  and  state,  as  were  the  surprise  and  won- 
der ot  all  Europe.  When  James  II  abdicated  the  tiironc  of  England,  and  rais- 
ed an  army  of  papists  and  confederate  French,  to  establish  popery  and  slavery, 
the  British  nation  did  not  betray  their  religion  or  their  liberty  by  an  inglorious 
submission,  nor  did  they  desert  the  mighty  cause  of  trutii  and  freedom  through 
sloth  or  cowardice.     Tliey  valiantly  repelled  tiie  force  and  tury  of  his  attacks; 


280  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CAI.DWPI.L,  D.D 

nnd  ferirfpssly  proclaimed  tlip  princp  nnd  princosss  of  Oransre  tlie  kinj?  and 
queen  of  (Jrcrit  Britain.  Tims  our  furethtlierp,  or  many  of  tliem,  saciificed 
at  Londiinderry  and  Enniskillen,  their  lives,  that  they  mi<jlit  liand  down  to  us 
the  fiir  inherilance  ofJiberty  and  tiie  protestant  re!i(jion;  and  in  the  whole 
course  of  their  conduct  in  tlie  support  and  defence  oftlieir  rin^lits,  they  have  set 
us  an  pxnmp'e  which  oiijrht  not  to  be  disreofarded. — Rntthe  si ntrri^ard  gives np 
Jiis  all :  all  thit  is  his  own,  and  all  that  should  he  his  children's  and  their  chil- 
dren's after  them,  info  the  han^ls  of  ambitious,  arbitrary,  and  wicked  men, — in 
consequence  of  which,  he  and  they,  so  far  as  he  is  at  all  concerned  to  prevent 
it,  are  CAposod  to  unremitted  slavery,  poverty,  and  distress. 

If  the  sluggard  be  thus  an  enemy  to  all  above  him,  to  all  around  him,  and 
to  all  that  will  come  after  him,  as  well  as  to  himself,  in  soul,  body,  and  estate, 
lie  ought  to  be  well  observed  in  every  well  regulited  community  ;  for  he  des- 
pises and  tramples  upon  the  laws  of  God  and  the  most  salutary  institutions  of 
men — institutions  that  have  been  handed  down,  as  invaluable  and  sacred, 
from  father  to  son,  through  many  generations.  Among  these  we  may  men- 
tion that  oi  trial  by  juries,  which  is  a  very  ancient  institution  or  u^^age  in 
Great  Britain;  for  it  seems  to  have  been  known  to  the  first  Britons,  was 
practised  by  the  Saxons,  and  has  been  confirmed  since  the  invasion  of  the 
Normans  by  Magna  Charta,  and  by  continual  usage.  Trial  by  juries,  how- 
over,  is  not  only  of  great  antiquity,  but  is  essential  to  the  safety  and  happiness 
of  every  British  subject,  and,  in  fact,  of  all  mankind.  Juries  are  England's 
JEphori  and  Tribuni;  and  are  the  living  bulwark  of  the  laws  and  the  liberties 
of  the  people.  If  we  look  at  tho>e  nations  that  are  destitute  of  this  constitu- 
tional or  essential  safeguard,  we  find  that  the  condition  ot  the  inhabitants  is 
miserable,  being  either  entirely  subjected  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  tyrants  who 
plunder,  dismember,  or  slay  tliem  from  mere  caprice,  according  to  their  hu- 
mor, often  without  any  provocation,  and  merely  to  gratify  a  savage  cruelty  ; 
or  at  least  we  find  them  under  such  laws  as  render  their  lives,  liberties,  and 
estates  liable  to  be  disposed  of  at  the  discretion  of  men  acting  as  judges,  who 
are  perfect  strangers,  oflener  mercenary  than  otherwise,  and  the  mere  crea- 
tures of  the  rryal  prerogative;  sometimes  malicious  and  oppressive;  and 
frequently  partial  and  corrupt.  But  such  has  been  the  patriotism,  prudence, 
and  activity  of  our  ancestors,  that  they  have  never  sufiered  the  most  arbitra. 
ry  prince,  or  princes,  that  ever  swayed  the  British  sceptre,  to  destroy  this  in- 
valuable privilege;  nor  can  it  ever  be  destroyed  until  the  constitution,  and 
the  liberties  of  the  people,  which  are  now  secured  by  it,  are  wrested  from 
them  and  trampled  under  foot,  which  can  never  be  done,  except  from  their 
own  supineness  or  mismanagement.  If  Britons,  when  under  the  influence  of 
lieatlien  superstition,  or  in  the  ignorance  and  thraldom  of  popery,  were  thus 
jealous  of  their  rights,  and  maintained  the  privilege  of  being  tried  by  llieir 
peers,  or  l)y  a  jury  of  the  wisest  and  best  men  to  be  found  in  tiic  vicinity,  t\& 
the  only  means  of  securing  their  lives  and  fortunes  against  the  arbitrary,  par- 
tial, and  corrupt  judges,  would  it  not  be  a  blot  on  the  escutcheon  of  Britons 
or  the  descendants  of  Britons,  professing  the  protcstanl  religion^  and  cnfoyin|f 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  281 

cio  much  light,  now  to  give  up,  from  sloth  or  cowardice,  a  privilege  so  valuahle 
that  every  other  of  merely  a  civil  kind  can  hardly  be  brought  into  the  com- 
parison. The  sluggard  who  gives  up  such  an  important  branch  of  the  con- 
stitution is  worse  than  a  thief  or  a  robber  ;  for  the  one  takes  from  you  only 
what  he  needs,  or  can  takeaway  at  present,  but  the  other  undermines  the 
constitution;  opf»ns  the  door  lor  tyranny  and  oppression;  and  exposes  all  a- 
i-ound  him,  and  all  that  will  come  alter  him,  as  vvuU  as  himself,  to  the  paw  of 
arbitrary  and  despotic  power. 

The  consequences  of  sloth  are  therefore  most  pernicious;  and  the  sluggard, 
being  a  perfect  nuisance  to  society,  nmst  be  under  the  frowns  of  his  Maker, 
and  despised  by  all  good  men;  for  he  will  not  unite  with  the  people  of  God 
and  the  friends  of  humanity,  either  to  procure  or  defend  their  common  rights 
and  privik-ges. — This  seems  to  have  been  the  case  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  Meroz;  and  God  expressed  in  the  most  forcible  manner  his  displeasure 
at  their  indolence  and  cowardice.  Wlien  Jabin,  one  of  the  kings  of  Canaan, 
who  reigned  in  Hazor,  had  subjugated  Israel,  and  mightily  oppressed  them 
for  the  space  of  twenty  years,  Deborah,  a  prophetess,  being  influenced  by  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord,  called  for  Barak  out  of  Kedesh-Naphtali ;  and  ordered  him 
to  go  to  Mount  Tabor,  and  take  with  him  ten  thousand  men  out  of  the  tribes 
of  Kaphtali  and  Zebulon,  Accordingly  Barak  issued  a  general  proclamation 
for  these  two  tribes  to  meet  him  at  Kedesh ;  and  they  obeyed,  except  the  in- 
habitants of  this  city  Meroz,  who,  it  seems,  chose  rather  to  be  under  the  tyr- 
anny and  oppression  of  that  cruel  prince,  Jabin,  than  to  join  with  God  and  his 
people  in  vindicating  their  rights  and  maintaining  their  common  privileges. 
God,  that  he  might  shew  his  indignation  against  those  sluggisli  or  timid 
wretches  who  would  not  join  in  the  common  cause  of  liberty,  nor  unite  in  de- 
fending those  rights  which  he  had  originally  given  them,  and  uhich,  thougii 
lost  by  their  pusillanimity,  he  was  about  to  restore,  provided  they  shewed 
themselves  worthy  of  such  a  favor,  inspired  the  prophetess  Deborah,  and  Ba- 
rak the  chief  commander  of  the  expedition,  with  that  celebrated  song,  recor- 
ded by  the  divine  historian,  in  which  there  is  this  remarkable  passage.  Curse 
ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof,  because  they  came  not  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 

There  seems  to  be  a  dreadful  similarity  between  our  sluggard  and  the  in- 
habitants of  this  devoted  city,  both  in  the  7neasure  and  in  the  manner  of  sm- 
ning.  They  regarded  neither  the  command  of  God,  nor  their  own  or  their 
children's  happiness ;  and  preferred  their  present  case  to  the  good  of  the 
community,  the  cause  of  truth,  and  the  welfare  of  posterity.  They  seemed 
to  despise,  or  disregard,  all  that  was  above  them,  all  that  was  around  them, 
and  all  that  might  come  after  them,  just  like  the  person  mentioned  in  our 
text,  who  shall  be  under  tribute.  If  this  be  so,  may  we  not  say,  without 
any  violence  to  the  sacred  text,  curse  ye  the  sluggard,  saith  the  angel  of  the 
Lord,  curse  him  bitterly,  because  he  will  not  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord  against  those  mighty  oppressors  who  break  down  the 
sacred  enclosures  of  the  constitution,  and  make  inroads  upon  the  life,  liberty; 
3G 


:iS2  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

and  property  of  the  subject ;  who  take  away  or  mutilate  our  charters  that  have 
been  solemnly  ratified  by  British  sovereigns  and  guarantied  by  the  plighted 
faith  of  government;  who  take  away  or  deprive  us  of  the  riijhf  of  trial  by 
juries,  which  is  indeed  the  Palladium  of  English  liberty ;  who  tax  us  and  take 
our  money,  vvithout  our  consent;  and  who  rxtrnd  the  courts;  of  adm  rally  and 
vice-admiralty  beyond  their  ancient  and  proper  limits. — Thus  the  sluiruard  is 
an  object  of  execration  every  where,  and  at  all  times;  and  the  evils  of  his 
conduct  attend  him  in  all  his  interests  and  relations,  in  public  and  in  private  ; 
yea  in  every  circumstance  or  situation  of  life,  his  way  is  as  a  hedge  ot  thorns. 
He  is  cursed  in  his  relations,  as  being  numbered  among  the  proflio-ate  and 
profane,  and  nearly  connected  with  the  most  abandoned  spendthrift;  for  hp  is 
brother  to  him  that  is  a  great  waster.  He  shall  be  cursed  with  groundless 
fears  and  apprehensions,  when  called  to  the  discharge  of  any  necessary  or 
important  duty  :  There  is  alion  loithout:  I  shall  he  slain  in  the  streets. — 
He  shall  be  cursed  in  his  possessions;  for  it  is  manilest  to  every  one  who 
takes  a  view  of  the  sluggard's  field,  and  of  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void  of 
understanding,  when  he  sees  its  whole  surface  covered  with  thorns  and  net- 
tles, and  its  wail  broken  down,  that  poverty  shrtll  ovprtake  the  owner  as  one 
that  travelleth,  and  that  famine  sh  ill  seize  him  as  an  armed  man.  lie  shall 
be  cursed  in  his  dwelling  ;  tor,  by  much  sloth  the  building  decnyeth.  He 
shall  be  cursed  as  &  felo-de-se,  a  person  who  is  deliberately  guilty  of  suicide, 
because  he  neglects  the  ordinary  means  of  preserving  his  life  and  securing 
his  best  interest.  The  desire  of  the  slothful  killelh  him ;  for  his  hands  re- 
fuse to  labor.  He  shall  be  cur?ed  of  God  forever:  Thou  wicked,  slothful,  and 
unprofitable  servant — you  must  take  up  your  everlasting  abode  in  the  black- 
ness of  darkness,  w^here  the  excruciating  pain  inflicted  upon  you  by  divine 
vengeance,  will  be  productive  ot  eternal  weeping,  wailing,  and  gnashing  of 
teeth.  But  why  need  we  attempt  to  mention  in  detail  the  numberless  evils — 
the  poverty,  sliame,  and  remorse — the  contempt,  misery,  and  despair — that 
he  shall  suffer  in  his  person  and  character,  here  and  hereafter?  All  the  curses 
in  the  book  of  God  are  levelled  against  him;  and  they  will,  erp  long,  break 
upon  him  like  a  bursting  cloud.  ThL>  united  execritions  of  the  present, 
and  of  coming  ages,  will  render  him  truly  contemptible;  and  the  gnawing 
reflections  of  a  guilty  conscience,  will  make  him  completely  and  forever  mis- 
erable. 

After  this  description  of  the  sluggard's  chnracter,  and  of  the  complicated 
train  of  evils  which  will  pursue  him,  in  soul  and  body,  through  time  and  eter- 
nity, blasting  his  name  and  character  here,  and  involving  the  rnin  of  his  hcpes 
hereafter,  you  are  perhaps  saying,  If  this  picture  be  just,  or  if  the  slugcard's 
character  be  so  odious  and  his  punishment  so  terrible,  we  will  not  indulge  in 
sloth  ourselves,  nor  connive  at  it  in  others.  These  are  good  resolutions,  and 
may  be  a  good  beginning;  but  these  distempered  times  call  for  more  than 
resolutions.  You  know  that  some  years  ago  the  British  Parliament  took  a 
notion  to  be  arbitrary ;  and  proceeded  to  pass  acts  which  were  unknown  to 
the  constitution,  alarming  to  the  wise  and  prudent  in  Great  Britain,  and  ruin- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  283 

ons  or  oppressive  to  their  American  subjects.  Tlioy  sent  out  their  odious 
Stamp  Act;  but  it  could  lind  no  entrance,  altiiough  il  was  said  there,  that  it 
would  execide  itself.  It  was  repealed,  but  the  desiflfn  of  taxing  Uic^e  colonies, 
without  their  consent,  was  not  laid  aside.  Probably  ihoy  saw  that  American 
virtue  would  not  readily  yield  to  such  arbitrary  measures;  and  that  therefore 
more  time  and  deliberation  were  necessary;  but  in  the  mean  time  there  was 
laid  up  a  decree  of  the  Parliament  for  future  use,  viz  :  "  I  hat  they  can  make 
laws  to  bind  us  in  all  eases  whatsoever."  They  seem  to  be  maliciously  zeal- 
ous to  obtain  domination  over  us, — a  proof  of  which  was  given  in  the  cuse  of 
New  York,  whose  legislation  was  suspended  by  an  act  of  Parliament,  for  a 
snni.iosed  offence  against  the  crown.  Thus  they  officiously  stepped  in  and 
stripped  his  maje^^fy  of  his  prerogative,  ihat  they  might  usurp  authority  over 
us.  They  proceeded  to  lay  a  tax  on  a  variety  of  things,  thougii,  with  respect 
to  most  ol  then),  it  was  again  repealed  ;  but  the  duty  on  tea  still  remaining, 
they  re.^o'ved  that  it  should  be  paid  ;  and  sent  largequanlitiesof  it  into  various 
parts  of  this  continent.  Some  was  sent  back ;  some  stored  up  ;  and  some  des- 
troyed, as  at  Boston.  But  the  tea  being  the  property  of  the  East  India  com- 
pany, the  destruction  of  it  was  a  trespass;  and  the  perpetrators  of  the  act 
were  liable  by  the  common  law.  Those  coucerned  in  that  riot,  however,  were 
not  appreiiended,  nor  was  the  town  of  Boston  called  upon  to  deliver  up  the 
ofiienders.  The  justice  of  Parliament  vvas  invoked  in  this  trifling  matter;  and 
it  will  surprise  the  less  civilized  nations  to  learn  that  it  was  granted.  Their 
armies  and  fleets  were  sent,  in  virtue  of  this  inhuman  law,  bearing  date  after 
the  trespass  at  Boston  was  committed,  and  exposing  tlie  innocent  with  the 
guilty,  to  the  most  complicated  distress  that  ministerial  vengeance  could  in- 
vent, or  that  a  British  Parliament,  filled  with  rage  and  the  insatiable  thirst  of 
power,  could  inflict. 

The  sense  of  the  United  Colonies  was  taken  on  this  important  matter. — 
We  set  forth  our  grievances :  VVe  petitioned  his  majesty  in  a  most  humble 
manner  to  intercede  with  the  Parliament  on  our  behalf.  '  Our  petitions  were 
rejected,  while  our  grievances  were  increased  by  acts  still  more  oppressive 
and  by  schemes  still  more  malicious,  till  we  are  reduced  to  the  dreadful  alter- 
native either  of  immediate  and  unconditional  submission,  or  of  resistance  by 
f  rce  of  arms.  VVe  have  therefore  come  to  that  trying  period  in  our  history 
in  which  it  is  manifest  that  the  Americans  must  either  stoop  under  a  load  of 
the  vilest  slavery,  or  resist  their  imperious  and  haughty  oppressors;  but  what 
will  follow  mu6t  be  of  the  utmost  importance  to  every  individual  of  these  Uni- 
ted Colonies;  and  should  be  the  hearty  concern  of  every  honest  American. — 
What  will  be  recoidod  on  the  following  page  of  our  history  must  depend  very 
n.u  h  on  our  conduct;  for  if  we  act  like  the  sluggard,  refuse,  from  the  mere 
love  of  ease  and  self  indulgence,  to  make  tiie  sacrifices  and  eflbrts  which  the 
circumstances  require,  or,  from  cowardice  and  pusillanimity,  shrink  from  dan- 
gers and  hardships,  we  must  continue  in  our  present  state  of  bondage  and  op- 
pression, while  that  bondage  and  oppression  may  be  increased  until  life  itself 
will  become  a  burden ;  but  if  we  stand  up  manfully  and  unitedly  in  delciice  of 


284  LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D 

our  rights,  appalled  by  no  dangers  and  shrinking  from  no  toils  or  privations, 
we  shall  do  valiantly.  Our  foes  are  powerful  and  determined  on  conquest ; 
but  our  cause  is  good  ;  and,  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  who  is  mightier  than 
all,  we  shall  prevail.  If  we  fail  to  do  our  duty  in  this  momentous  crisis,  bon- 
dage and  oppress 'on,  with  all  theii  unnumbered  and  interminable  woes,  will 
be  entailed  upon  us;  but  if  we  act  our  part  well,  as  men  and  as  christians,  in 
defenceof  truth  and  righteousness,  we  may,  with  the  help  of  the  Lord,  obtain 
a  complete  and  final  deliverance  from  the  power  that  has  oppressed  us,  or  at 
least  secure  our  rights,  and  attain  a  prosperity  and  happiness  which  no  other 
nation  has  ever  enjoyed,  or  even  dared  to  hope  ;  for  then  the  consciences  of 
men  being  unawed  or  unbiassed  by  human  authority,  and  the  truth  of  God  be- 
ing unadulterated  and  unfettered,  the  gospel  will  have  free  course;  and  we 
may  hope  that  truth  and  righteousness  will  prevail  until  the  predictions  of  the 
inspired  writers,  however  vivid  and  glowing,  shall  be  all  fulfilled. 

If  I  could  portray  to  you,  in  any  thing  like  t'iPir  reality,  tlie  re-ults-of  youif 
conduct  in  this  groat  crisis  in  your  political  destiny;  or  it  1  could  describe 
with  any  tolerable  degree  of  correctness,  the  feelings  which  you  will  have  of 
self  approbation,  joy,  and  thankfulness,  or,  of  self  reproach,  (rhameand  regret, 
according  to  the  part  you  act — whether  as  men  and  as  patriots,  or  as  cowards 
and  traitors — I  should  have  no  difficulty  in  persuading  you  to  shake  oiFyour 
sloth,  and  stand  up  manfully  in  a  tirm,  united,  and  persevering  defence  of  your 
liberties ;  but  I  would  hope  that  enough  has  been  said — enough  in  reason — 
enough  for  my  purpose;  and  we  expect  that  none  of  you  will  be  wanting  in 
the  discharge  of  your  duty,  or  prove  unvvortiiy  of  a  cause  which  is  so  important 
in  itself,  and  which  every  patriot  and  every  christian  should  value  more  thaa 
wealth,  and  hold  as  dear  as  his  life. 


SERMON    II. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  UNIVERSAL  SALVATION  UNSCRIPTURAL. 


Psalm,  i.  5. — The  ungodly  shall  not  stand  in  the  judgment. 

The  doctrine  of  universal  restorarion,  lately  published,  and  by  some  adop- 
ted in  this  country,  has  been  the  occasion  of  the  present  discourse.  The 
Presbytery  of  Orangfe,  having  taken  this  matter  into  consideration,  directed 
its  members  to  prepare,  each  of  them,  a  discourse  on  tlie  subject,  and  write  it 
out  in  full.  In  obedience  to  this  injunction,  I  have,  in  common  with  other 
members,  endeavored  to  devote  to  it  as  much  time  and  attention  as  my  cir- 
cumstances, and  my  regular  avocations  would  permit ;  and  my  views  of  this 
pernicious  doctrine  are  now  presented  in  the  form  which  the  Presbytery  di- 
rected. 

Some  of  you  may  be  ready  to  say,  however,  that  I  might  have  chosen  a 
text  more  to  the  purpose;  and  I  admit  it ;  but  the  reason  why  I  did  not  was 
this:  a  number  having  been  appointed  to  write  on  the  same  subject,  and  tak- 
ing it  for  granted  that  the  greater  part  would  select  such  passages  as  were 
most  appropriate,  I  have  on  purpose  passed  them  over,  and  left  them  for  those 
who  were  more  capable  of  doing  them  justice. 

This  Psalm  has  generally  been  considered  as  a  kind  of  preface  or  introduc- 
tion to  the  whole  book;  and  if  a  preface  is  intended  to  make  the  reader  ac- 
quainted, in  a  few  words,  with  the  subject  matter  of  the  book  to  which  it  be- 
longs, the  first  Psalm  may  perhaps  be  considered  in  that  light;  for  we  are 
here  told  very  briefly,  but  very  forcibly,  in  what  true  happiness  consists,  and 
by  what  course  it  is  to  be  obtained  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  set  be- 
fore us,  by  way  of  contrast,  and  in  language  equally  concise  and  forcible,  the 
unhappy  condition  and  the  miserable  end  of  those  who  reject  the  counsels  here 
given  and  pursue  their  own  course. 

But  it  seems  that  there  is  a  gradation,  or  regular  progress,  in  both  the  cha- 
racters here  described,  which  is  worthy  of  notice;  and  which,  when  properly 
considered,  gives  the  text  a  force  of  meaning  that  otherwise  it  would  not  have. 
They  are  first  ungodly,  having  no  correct  views  of  God  and  no  riifht  feel- 
ings towards  him.  Then  they  are  siymers,  walking  in  the  ways  of  trans- 
gression, actively  engaged  in  committing  iniquity, — and  finally  they  are  scnr- 
ners,  sitting  in  their  seats,  perfectly  at  ease,  and  scorning  alike  the  invitations 
and  warnings,  the  promises  and  threatenings  of  heaven.  These  shall  be  all 
driven  away,  and  shall  not  stand  in  the  judgment;  they  shall  have  no  place 
in  the  congregation  of  the  righteous ;  and  their  way  shall  perish.  But  let  it 
be  remembered  that  it  is  the  ungodly  —those  who  are  only  in  the  first  stage 


286  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.P. 

of  their  proofress,  and  who  stand  fair  perhaps  before  fhc  world,  that  are  repre- 
SRDted  in  tlie  text  as  not  beint^  able  to  stand  in  the  judgment. 

The  words  s/««d  and  y«//,  when  applied  to  moral  subjects,  are  metaphorical; 
and,  as  used  in  tiie  text,  they  may  refer  to  the  process  of  winnowing  wheat, 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse;  or  they  may  have  an  allusion  to  those  con- 
tests of  rauscnlar  strength  and  agility,  termed  tvrestling,  in  which  he  who 
«/ff?u/s  is  conqueror,  while  he  who /"aMs  is  conquered. — Not  to  stand  in  the 
judgmfnt  is  to  be  condemned  to  sufibr  according  to  tiie  law  by  which  he  is 
judged. 

In  speaking  furtlier  on  this  subject  T  shall  consider, 

I.  The  RULE  according  to  which  the  last  or  general  Judgment  will  prcceed. 

II.  The  Judge  who  will  acton  this  solemn  occasion. 

III.  Attempt  to  shew,  by  way  of  inference,  that  the  ungodly,  when  tried 
by  this  ruJe  and  before  this  Judge,  cannot  stand. 

I.  Accordino'  to  this  method  we  are  to  consider  the  rule  according  to 
v.hich  the  last  or  general  judgment  will  proceed. — We  need  not  take  time  to 
inquire  whether  there  will  be,  in  any  respect,  a  different  rule  for  those  who 
lived  before  the  law  and  those  who  lived  under  the  law;  or  tor  those  who 
v/ere  made  acquainted  with  the  gospel,  and  those  who  had  nothing  to  guide 
them  but  the  g-limrnerings  of  reason  and  the  dim  light  of  nature;  nor  whe- 
ther the  condition  of  the  heathen,  in  reference  to  this  judicial  proceeding, 
will  be  at  all  affected  by  the  gospel.  Well  meaning  people  differ  in  opinion 
on  this  point;  for  while  some  think  that,  as  the  gospel  was  never  sent  to  them, 
it  cannot  in  any  way  affect  their  future  condition;  others  believe  that  al- 
though the  offers  of  pardon  were  never  formally  made  to  them  and  no  mes- 
senoer  was  ever  sent  to  make  known  to  them  the  terms  of  salvation,  yet  as  it 
was  always  witliin  their  reach,  if  they  had  possessed  a  sincere  love  for  the 
truth,  it  must  have  some  benring  on  their  final  account;  but  these  are  things 
which,  not  being  suggested  by  the  text,  would  be  foreign  from  my  purpose; 
»nd  we  know  that  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right. 

The  scriptures  will  ccrlaiiiiy  be  the  rule  for  all  who  have  had  them  ;  and 
the  moral  laws  or  precepts  which  they  contain,  being  founded  in  the  nature 
and  relations  of  man,  and  the  immutable  difference  between  right  and  wrong, 
must  be  to  all  men  the  standard  of  moral  rectitude.  Besides.  Having  been 
originally  given  for  that  purpose  they  must  constitute  the  rule  by  which  the 
jndgment  will  proceed  in  relation  to  the  whole  human  race;  for  they  are  the 
measure  of  holiness;  and  wiihout  holiness  no  man  can  enter  the  kingdom  of 
licaven.  As  this  is  not  denied,  so  far  as  we  know,  by  the  advocates  of  univer- 
sal salvation  in  this  country,  we  may  fairly  take  it  for  granted  on  the  present 
occasion;  and  may  therefore  proceed  to  notice  the  character  of  the.-e  laws. 

1.  They  are  equitable,  and  calculated  to  promote  the  highest  welfare  of 
mankind  ;  or,  in  the  language  of  the  apostle,  they  arc  holy,  just,  and  good, — 
'J'hey  are  holy ;  tor  they  require  holy  thoughts,  holy  words,  and  holy  actions. 
They  forbid  every  thing  that  is  contrary  to  the  perfections  of  God;  and  enjoin 
every  thing  that  is  pureutid  holy,  or  that  lias  a  tendency  to  promote  holiness 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  L'87 

in  ourselves  or  ollicrs.  They  are  just ;  for  tlipy  require  notliing'  bill  what  is 
equitable,  or  wliat  is  fairly  due  from  us  to  God  our  Maker  and  to  our  follow  be- 
ings: the  precepts  are  ju.st,  and  the  penallies'are  just :  all  the  counsels,  invi- 
tations, and  warnings  are  reasonable  and  just;  and  therefore  they  not  only  il- 
lustrate the  purity  and  rectitude  of  tlie  divine  character,  but  are  necessary  to 
the  good  order  and  safety  of  God's  intellifrent  kingdom.  Moreover:  They 
are  ^oorf — calculated  to  produce  nothing  but  happiness;  and  true  happiness 
never  can  be  enjoyed  except  in  obedience  to  them. — Every  precept  and  every 
penalty  ; — all  the  rewards  and  punishments  promised  or  threatened  in' the  sa- 
cred book,  are  but  so  many  expressions  of  the  divine  purity  and  goodness;  and 
if  they  were  to  have  their  full  and  appropriate  influence  on  the  hearts  and  lives 
of  all  mankind,  they  would  produce  a  state  of  hrrmony  and  blessedness  in  de- 
lightful approximation  to  that  of  the  New  Jerus.ilem. 

2.  They  take  notice  of  the  imperfect  rights  of  .nen,  declaring  that  God  will 
have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice. 

3.  They  extend  to  tlie  motives  and  ends  that  influence  hum:in  actions. 

4  They  extend  to  all  the  relations  that  men  sustain;  and  to  every  depart- 
ment of  the  social  and  business  intercourse  of  life. 

They  are  therefore  perfect,  and  vastly  more  salutary  than  any  that  are  of 
human  origin;  and  in  proportion  to  their  excellence,  the  extent  of  their  ope- 
rations, and  the  unhappy  consequences  of  not  observing  them,  must  be  tlie 
guilt  of  transgression.  What  is  the  amount  of  that  guilt,  or  the  desert  of  the 
transgressor,  is  not  for  us  to  determine;  for,  m  the  nature  of  the  case,  God 
mu?t  be  the  interpreter  of  his  own  laws,  and  of  their  penalties  too.  Now  if 
we  understand  his  language  aright,  the  punislmient  of  the  impenitent  trans- 
gressor will  be  eternal,  or  those  who  cannot  stand  in  the  judgment  will  be 
doomed  to  an  endless  state  of  wretchedne.ss  and  despair;  for  according  to  £he 
law  itself,  in  its  most  obvious  or  liberal  meaning,  the  sentence  will  be  final, 
and  they  must  be  left  without  hope  ;  but  as  the  whole  Bible  must  be  regarded 
as  an  explanation  from  God  himself,  of  the  meaning  of  the  law,  and  of  the  im- 
port of  its  penalty,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to  take  up  a  few  particular  passages; 
and,  as  we  go  along,  make  such  observations  on  them  as  the  case  may  scent 
to  require. 

The  first  we  shall  notice  is  found  in  Ezekiel,  xviii,  4.  7Vtf  sonl  that  sin- 
nelh,  it  shall  die.  Here  we  may  inquire  what  kind  of  a  death  a  soul  can  die 
which,  by  the  determination  of  its  Creator,  is  to  live  forever.  In  answer  to 
this  inquiry  we  observe  that  the  death  of  any  being,  or  of  any  thing  that  has 
li'e,  always  bears  a  direct  proportion  to  the  lite  which  it  has  received,  or  to 
the  dignity  that  God  has  conferred  upon  it.  For  example.  A  vegetable  can 
lose  only  the  principle  of  vegetation  ;  and  an  animal,  the  powers  of  animal 
nature,  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  reduced  to  the  class  ot  unorganized 
matter.  It  may  be  further  observed  that,  in  vegetable  and  animal  nature?, . 
death  does  not  destroy  or  annihilate  one  particle  of  matter;  but  only  deprives 
them  of  that  dignity  which  G?A  had  conferred  upon  them,  and  by  which  they 
were  raised,  for  a  time,  above  the  common  earth  on  which  wo  tread.     Now 


'<.*RS  LIFE  OF  DAVIU  CALDWELL,  D.D, 

to  understand  what  is  meant  by  the  death  of  a  spirit,  we  must  consider  the 
honor  and  dignity  which  God  has  given  to  its  existence. 

We  find  througliout  creation,  so  far  as  it  comes  within  our  observation,  a 
regular  and  beautiful  gradation,  in  this  respect,  from  the  unorganized  lump 
of  earth  up  to  the  most  perfect  forms  of  vegetable  and  animal  life.  We  see 
manifested  every  where  a  complete  unity  of  design,  but  an  endless  variety  in 
the  structure,  form,  and  other  attributes  of  the  different  parts  whieh  compose 
the  entire  system.  From  this  unity  and  variety  of  which  we  are  speaking,  and 
which  appears  in  all  the  known  works  o!  God,  we  might  conclude  that  a  sim- 
ilar variety  would  be  found  to  exist  in  tlie  moral  world,  or  in  the  dignity  which 
God  has  conferred  on  spirits;  and  what  we  would  be  led  from  analogy  to  ex- 
pect, the  Scriptures  inform  us  is  the  tact;  for  they  not  only  assure  us  of  an 
ordei  o;  inleliectual  beings, — to  which  our  race  belongs, — altogether  above  the 
tribes  of  irrational  animals,  and  subject  to  a  corresponding  destiny  of  weal  or 
wo,  but  that,  in  this  order  of  beings,  there  are  many  gradations;  and  that 
dominions,  principalities,  and  powers  surround  the  divine  throne;  but  this  di- 
versity of  power,  wisdom,  holiness,  «fcc.,  or  ia  whatever  their  dignity  and 
happiness  consists,  is  certainly  owing  to  the  bounty  and  goodness  of  God  con- 
ferred upon  them.  Then,  by  the  death  of  such  a  creature,  or  such  a  spirit,  is 
not  meant  its  ceasing  to  exist,  but  its  being  deprived  of  that  bounty  and  good- 
ness which  the  Creator  had  at  first  conferred  upon  it,  and  not  essential  to  its 
nature. 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  abstractly  what  death  is;  and  in  this  sense 
death  may  constitute  the  punishment  of  loss;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  passage  before  us  gives  no  intimation  of  a  lecovery  of  this  loss;  and  the 
very  Xevmdeatli,  so  tar  as  we  understand  it,  or  know  any  thing  about  that 
which  it  designates,  seems  to  imply  that  the  loss  cannot  be  recovered: — it 
certainly  cannot,  unless  by  the  power  and  goodness  ot  the  Aimigiity;  but 
whether  such  is  his  purpose  or  not  will  be  considered  hereafter. 

The  next  passage  to  which  we  ask  your  attention  is  Mat.  xxv.  46. — And 
these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment ;  but  the  righteous  into  life 
eternal.  It  will  be  admitted  (jiat  God  deals  with  his  creatures  on  such  prin- 
ciples of  fairnes-s  and  equity  as  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  ever  having  it 
to  say  that  he  deceived  them,  or  told  them  what  was  not  strictly  true.  It 
will  also  bo  admitted,  we  presume,  that,  as  a  revelation  was  given  to  warn  us 
of  our  danger,  nnd  inlorm  us  how  we  might  escape  it,  the  language  in  which 
it  was  communicated  would  not  be  equivocal,  nor  calculated  either  to  lull  peo- 
ple into  a  fatal  security,  or  to  torment  ihem  with  groundless  fears;  but  if  this 
be  admitted,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  by  what  ingenuity  the  passage  before 
us  c*n  be  reconciled  with  the  doctrine  of  universal  restoration,  or  with  the 
limited  duration  ofthe  punishment  to  be  inflicted  on  the  finally  impenitent. 

'i'iic  Greek  word,  (kolasis,)  which  is  translated  yunishment,  is  truly  em- 
phatical,  and  expressive  of  whatever  kind  or  degree  of  punishment  can  bo  in- 
Hictfd  on  the  cliildrcn  of  men.  The  word,  («/o?u'o;i.,)  rendered  everlasting, 
expresses  the  duration  of  the  punishment,  which,  wc  say  and  believe,  will  be 


LIFE  CF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  H.D.  ~S'J 

absolutely  without  end.  Those  wlio  liavo  arloptcd  tlio  docti'ine  of  umvrr^nl 
restoration  say  that  there  will  come  a  period  when  all  shall  be  delivered  troiii 
the  torments  below.  This  tliey  attempt,  not  to  prove  by  fair  arirunicnt,  but 
to  maintain  oy  ardent  declamation  on  the  infinite  love  of  God  and  his  super- 
lative goodness  to  the  race  of  man.  Grantino;  his  love'  to  be  infinite,  which 
weare  not  disposed  to  controvert,  are  not  all  his  other  attributes  also  hifir.ilel 
If  so,  infinite  love  must  li.irmonize  with  infinite  justice ;  for  il  infinite'  love 
could  be  exercised  without  infinite  ju^^tico,  iVwould  become  infinite  injustice. 
The  word  which  is  translated  everlastins^.mi^lernul,  being  the  same  in  the 
original,  is  used  to  express  the  duration  oHthe  saints'  happine^is  ^s^well  asthe 
duration  of  theipunishment  due  to  the  wicked';  and  if  it  has  a  limited  signifi- 
cation in  the  one  case,  no  reason  can  be  given  why  it  should  not  in  the  oilier. 
According  to  all  the  principle  of  sound  interpretation  the  word  must  have 
the  same'meaningin  both  places,  because  ihere  is  nothing  m  the  context  nor 
in  the  nature  of  the  case  to  limit  or  modify  that  meaning  ;  and  therefore,  if  it 
expresses  a  limited  duration  in  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  it  must  teach 
the  same  in  relation  to  the  happiness  ofifhe  righieou--,  which  is  et  war  with 
all  our  ideas  of  the  goodness  and  faithfulness  of  the  divine  Being,  as  well  as 
the  provisions  made  for  our  salvation  and  held  forlh  in  the  gospel. 

We  lay  no  stress  on  the  etymology  of  the  word  ;  tor  that  might  give  rise  to 
a  great  deal  of  critical  discussion,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  my  purpose ;  but 
that  the  happiness  of  the  riglUeous  will  be  absolutely  eternal  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  if  it  is  in  Jhe.power  of  language  to  make  it  certain;  for  it  is  expressed 
in  every  variety  of 'form  which  ihe  Greek  language,  with  alJ  its  copiousness 
andgrc&t  power  of  combination,  admitted.  For  cxtmple:  Jt.  is.s«^,  They 
shall  go  out  no  more  forever;  and  a g;un.  Neither  Mn  ihcy  die  my  more. 
Every  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the  Greek  language  knows  that  these  ex- 
pressions, especially  when  viewed -in  connexion  with  others  of  an  indnect 
kind,  though  no  less  forcible,  put  the  matter  to  rest,  in  relation  to  lh«  righte- 
ous, if  language  can  do  it;  but  then  they  make  the  passage  under  conjidera- 
tion,  keeping  Its  connexion  properly/i^  view,  equally  conclusive  rcsiiecting 
the  puuishinent  of  the  wicked.  >•. 

Again.  If  it  signify  a  limited  duration,  as  it  must  do,  provided  the  punish- 
ment of  the  impenitent  transgressor  is  not  to  be  eternal ;  and  if  that  limited, 
time  or  duration  cannot  be  ascertained,  then  it  will  follow  that  all  the  ble.ssings 
and  curses  in  the  volume  of  inspiration  ^re  vague  and  indetermined;  and  nei- 
ther the  transgressors  of  the  divine  law,  nor  those  who,  in  obedience  to  it.  walk 
humbly  before  God.  can  know  anv  thing  certain  or  definite,  as  to  the  rcsulta 
of  redemption,  or  the  final  destiny  of  the  moral  world.  There  ate  other  ex- 
pre.ssions.  however,  on  this  subject  of  similar  impoit,  and  corroborative  of  the 
interpretation  which  we  have  given  to  the  one  un.ier  consideration.  In  the 
41st  verse  of  this  chapter  the  judge  is  represented  as  sayiug  to  the  wicked, 
Depart  from  me  y.  cursed  into  EVKRL^sTING  fire,  whore  the  word  rendered 
everlasting  is  the  same  as  in  the  passage  we  have  been  considering;  a^d  this 
eveilastmg  fire  is  said  to  liave  hQQXXlprepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angds.  In 
37 


M 


:# 


;290  LIFE  OF  DAVU-)  CALDWELL,  D,D 

Ihe  parallel  place,  Mark  ix.  43^8,  it  is  said  to  be  unrjuenchahle;  and  those 
who  are  cast  into  it  arc  represented  as  ever  living  to  feel  its  power.  //  is  better 
fot  thee,  said  the  Saviour,  to  enter  into  life  maimed  than  having  two  hands 
to  be  cast  into  hell,  into  the  fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched,  ichere  thetr 
toorm  dielh  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched. 

But  the  word  which  is  rendered  everlasting  in  reference  to  the  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked  is  also  applied  to  things  which  we  cannot  suppose  to  be 
limited  in  their  duration.  It  i^ applied  to  ihc  heavenly  state.  The  things 
which  are  not  seen  are  eter!>jaIi  «r  everlasting. — 2  Cor.  iv.  IB.  But  the 
God  nf  all  grace  who  hath  called  us  unto  his  eternal  glory;  and,  what 
seems  to  put  the  matter  beyond  dispute,  it  is  applied  to  the  divine  Being,  in 
various  forms  and  connexions.  Thus  it  is  applied  to  the  Holy  Spirit — Heb, 
ix,  14.  How  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ  who  through  the  ^tt.h.. 
^K\.  Sjiirit  offered  himself  to  God,  &LC.  All  these  expressions  we  suppose 
signifycontinual  existence  or  duration.  If  not,  how  are  those  ages  to  be 
measured  during  which  the  wicked  are  to  remain  in  Tophef?  Not  by  the 
sun,  or  moon,  or  stars  that  now  mar#fhe  lapse  of  time;  for  these  will  have 
been  burned  up  in  the  general  conflagration,  or  will  have  passed  away,  before 
Ihe  final  sentence  is  pronounced.  Time  is  measured  by  equable  motion;  but 
we  have  no  account  of  any  such  bodies  in  motion  for  the  measurement  of 
time  in  the  other  world. 

The  next  passage  we  quote  is  ig  Rev.  xiv.  11.  And  the  smoke  of  their 
torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  (^^'ever.  The  preceding  verses  describe 
the  character  of  those  who  w'ere  pVnished.  They  worshipped  the  beast  and 
his  image.  The  mode  of  their  punishment  is  also  described:  it  was  with 
fire  and  brimstone;  but  vvhether  this  is  to  be  understood  literally  or  figura- 
tively we  shall  not  stop  fo'mqu ire,  as  it  does  not  affect  the  argument.  Another 
ciicumstance  is  mentioned  :  they  were  punished  in  the  presence  of  the  angels, 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb;  and  the  word=  which  we  have  quoted  ex- 
press the  duration  of  this  punishment.  The  words  in  the  original  (aw 
aionas  aionon)  are  the  same  oi  nearly  the  same  with  the  one  we  have  been 
considering;  but  in  its  substantive  form  and  repeated, — a  form  of  expression 
whicli  ts  common  in  the  original  languages  of  the  Bible,  and  seems  to  have 
been  intended  to  express  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  its  fullest  extent.  The 
Holy  of  Holies,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  expressed  in  the  translation,  tlie  Most 
Holy  place,  is  a  similar  form  of  expression  ;  and  it  meant  that  the  part  of  the 
temple  thus  designated  was  to  be  regarded  as  perfectly  holy,  and  that  no 
kind  of  impurity  was  to  be  admitted  into,  or  profanation  offered  to  it.  When 
Paul  said  !ie  was  an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  which  is  another  expression  of 
the  same  form,  he  meant  to  assert  that  he  was  a  Hebrew  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  tiie  term;  and  when  the  Apostle  John  said  of  the  wicked  that  the  smoke  of 
their  torment  ascendelh  up  forever  and  ever,  he  meant  to  assure  us  that 
their  punishment  will  be  eternal  in  the  full  and  absolute  sense  of  the  word. 

The  Saviour  said,  Mat.  xii.  32,  "Whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the 
S'on  nf  man,  it  shall  he  forgiven  him ;   but  whosoever  speaketh  against  thd 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  ^1)1 

Hnly  Ghost,  it  shall  not  he  forgiven  him,  neilhcr  in  this  loorhl,  nor  in  the 
tvorld  to  come.  Here  then  is  one  class  of  simiorstliatshall  never  be  forifiven  ' 
and  therefore  there  cannot  be  a  universal  restoration  of  the  lapsed  race  of 
Adam.  But  say  the  advocates  of  this  doctrine,  whenmcn-iiavc  paid  the  utmost 
farthing  tliey  shall  be  discharged.  True,  when  thoy  have  satisfied  the  justice 
of  God  it  would  be  unjust  to  detain  theiii  longer;  but  the  justice  of  (iod,-  or 
liis  law,  which,  in  this  case,  is  the  same  thing,  requires  that  they  should  suffer 
through  endless  existence,  or,  a.s  the  scriptures,  express  it,  forever  and  ever. 
It  is  said,. however,  that  the  word  rendered  ivHrlasling,  or  forever,  frequently 
means  a  liniited  period,  and  that  it  certainly  ouoftit  to,  have  this  meaning  when 
it  relates  to  the  future  sufTerings  of*^^'men,  especially"  as  the  final  happiness  of 
all  tend  so  much  more  to  illustrate  the  divine  mercy.  If  justice  and  mercy 
are  attributes  of  equal  extent;  and  if  the  one  cannot  be  glorified  or  exalted  at 
the  expense  of  the  other,  we  must  admit  that  the  law  which  threatens  jjvery 
violator,  of  it  with  eternal  misery,  is  not  inconsistent  with  mercy.  Merciful 
laws  and  merciful  actions  are  not  always  of  equal  extent.  Merciful  or  benign 
laws  have  respect  to  the  whole  community,  and  are  formed  with  a  view  to  the 
general  good^  and  are  wise  and  wholesome  in  proportion  as  they  are  calcula- 
ted to  protect  the  rights,  secure  the  peace,  and  ad\iance  the  comfort  and  wel- 
fare of  those  who  are  subject  to  their  operation.  But  they  can  be  of  no  avail, 
or  can  be  productive  of  no  benefical  results,  unless  they  are  strictly  enforced  ; 
yet  the  act  of  punishing  an  offender  would  not  be  regarded  as  an  act  of-piercy 
in  itself,  or  so  far  as  the  subject  of  punishment  was  concerned,  though  it  might 
be  very  beneficial  in  its  results,  and  even  necessary  to  the  safety  and^welfarc 
of  tlie  community  at  large.  '^ 

The  punishment  of  offenders  according  to  their  deserts  is  acknowledged  and 
felt  by  all  to  be  exceedingly  desirable;  for  a  state'org.ng.rchy  is  a  state  of  ex- 
treme wretchedness;  and  in  civjl  society  it  ol'f.en  becomes  necessary  to  inflict 
the  very  highest  punishment  that  is  in  the  power  of  man.  But  if  the  violation 
of  human  laws  exposes  the  offender  to  capital  punishment,  or  to  such  a  death 
as  animal  nature  can  die,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  man,  who,  as 
an  intelligent  being,  and  a  subject  of  God's  moral  government,  will  violate  his 
laws,  reject  the  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  commit  the  highest  or  most  flagrant 
crimes  that  arc  in  his  power,  even  after  years  of  forbearing,  warning  and  remon- 
strance, must  deserve  such  adeath  as  a  spirit  can  die!  Or  it  a  man  mayjusUy 
forfeit  all  his  rights  and  privileges  in  civil  society,  making  it  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  he  should  be  entirely  and  forever  excUid<!CI  from  its  precincts — wheth- 
er by  death  or  banishment,  makes  no  difference  as  to  tiie  force  of  our  argument 
— may  not  a  man,  as  a  subject  of  God's  moral  government,  forfeit  all  claim  to 
a  participation  in  the  beneficial  operation  of  those  laws  which  art? hyly,  just, 
and  good;  and  even  make  it  right  and  necessary  that  he  sIiQuId' be  entirely 
and  forever  excluded  from  the  society  of  those  who  arc  obedient  subjects  of  that 
government !  The  fact  is,  penalties  are  necessary  ;  for  without  them  there 
i§D9^cli  thing  as  law,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term;  but  if  the  laws  arc 
A-bcnerblent  in  their  design  and  wholesome  in  their  operation,  the  penalties 


2U2  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

which  are  necessary  to  secure  obedience,  whatever  may  be  their  extent,  are 
of  the  eame  c!»aractor.— That  there  is  such  a  thing  as'  right  and  vvronj"-.  or 
moral  good  and  evilj-'and  thatTyiG'Oiie  is  virtuous  and  meritorious,  and  thie 
other  wrong  and  deserving  of  pttplsliment,  all  admit;,  but  the  decree  or  dura- 
tion of  punishment  which  men  deserve jbtitheir  crimes,  is  the  question  at  issue. 
All  punishiner.t  cannot  be  disciplinary;  It  is  not  so  in  civil  government;  tor 
the  coirftnon  sense  of  mankind,  in  all  ages,  hus  determined  that^tUere  are  of- 
fences of  so  a^-^gravated  a.  kind  that  the  offender  must  $ind  oug^ht  to  be  cut  eft" 
from  the  society  of  which  he^li,4s  proved  liim^*'!^  unworthy,  and  JJe  made  to 
fcnl  the  full  weight  ofths-^jht^Sority  an^^fiS^^f  which  he  has  insulted  and  de- 
fied. But  may  not  the  saine  thmg  tak*PpTace  under  the  divine  governmenti 
If  the  prtnciple  is  ^iind  in  the  one  case  we  would  like  to  know  wiiy  it  is  not 
so  in  theplhor. 

Birtfal%e  have  already  remarked  this  is  not  a  matter  for  us  to  decide:  It 
belongs  to  God  alone.  Then  we  mubi.go  again  lo  the  hvv  and  the  te^^nibny; 
and  although  the  passages  already  cited  we  considtT  abundantly  s;  flicient, 
yet  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  adduce  another.  It  is  the  account  of  the  ricli  man 
and  Lazarus,  I-^oke  xvi,  2:?-31 ;  and  there  a"re  several  ihliligsHn  ^hit  deserve 
our  aJiention.  1'.  The  conditiuii  oi  the  rich  nan  was  one  ol'  iinminglpd  suffer- 
ing; for  ^'Stonld  not  obtain  so  much  as  a  "drop  of.water  to  cqcfl"  liis 'parched 
lonyue,  2.  l^ere  wiBkS  no  beino^any  where  that  was  at  all  disposed  or  had  the 
port  OF  to  giy&.him  rf>liei'  ".y.  Tlie  only  means  of  salvation  known  to  him  was 
lioaring*hicfees  and  the  Propliets  ;  and  that  he  knew  vvas.confined.  tojiis*life, 
4.  Tlu||i(>  was  a  grefit  and  impassable  gulph  tixg4-"^^ve€n  hinil*and  the  abode 
of  fBhfcighteogi^.  T  he'rbfore  his  punishment  was  not  disciplinary— neither  in 
its  ov(*Q.^ature,  nor  i.n  hjs  estimation.  If  God  had  designed  it  as  such,  "he 
wottld  fiave  mingfed^fW^Ol with  it,  as  the  kind.atid  judicious  parenl-at  least 
speaks  in  tones  of  afffct^ftn  even  wiiile  layin^jiy>  the  rod.-  11  the  rich  man 
i'wiiien  lilting  up  his  eyes  in  torment  and  b^g^ing.for  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  his 
parched  tongue,  could  htfve  viewed  his  suneriiigs  as  disciplinary,  that  itself 
would  iiave  been  some  consolation  ;  and  holy  beings  who  afte  as  benevolent  as 
they  are  holy,  if  aware  of  this  fuci,  \\aould  iinve  been  disposed  to  afford  him  any  | 
relief  in  their  povver,  or  to  minister  in  some  way  or  other  to  his  welfiue  as 
the^p  in  this. world  to  those  vvho  are  heirs  cf  salvation.  But  he  could  not 
oB^^'one  drop  of  comfort  from  any  source  ;  and  he  speaks  of  his  sufierings.by 
the  name  o^ torment  which  can  hardly  be  a|)pMcd  with  propriety  to  that  whjch"^^ 
is  calculated  to  rriake  us  better ;  lor  it  is  certainly  very  diflferent  from  the  Ian-,** 
guage  of  a  suiTeiing  child  of  God  in  this  world. — Besides.  He  was  not  only 
helplesB  buJ^l»o)i;^ss  of  relief,  and  hfe  made  no  request  of  that  kind.  He  ev-  ^  « 
idently  vakeel' tffs 'situation  as  desperate;  and  therefore  according  to  the  law^ 
of  the  hlimaffiirfrnd,  he  could  do  nothing  to  eflect  or  procure  a  change  in  his 
condition  ;  for  absolute  despair  paralize^  Ihe  soul,  and  renders  all  means  un- 
availing, because  there  is  no  power  to  use  them.  His  mind  seems  to  have 
been  occupi&|eiclusiveiy  with  his  sufferings,  not  with  the  thquaH'f's 
of  dcliverano^j'OT  with  the  ways' and  meaniot  obtaining  that  olyect;  ai 


LIFE  OP  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  293 

all  his  requests  and  expressions  as  well  as  from  father  Abraham's  responses  it 
is  evident  that  there  was  no  hope  in  his  case.  Now  tiic  advocates  of  universal 
salvation  ought  to  tell  us  by  what  route  the  wicked,  when  released,  will  get 
round  or  over  that  impassable  gulph;  and  by  what  means  and  influences  the 
requisite  change  will  be  effected  in  their  minds,  according  to  the  principles  on 
whicii  God  deals  with  moral  agents;  but  nothing  of  this  kmd  hav»'  tl»ey  ever 
attempted;  and  according  to  the  rijle  by  which  we  shall  all  be  judged,  th6ir 
prospects  must  be  rather  gloomy,  even  to  themselves,  and  the  ri.-k  they  are 
running  is  certainly  fearful. 

n.  We  come  now  to  the  second  thing  proposed  which  was  to  say  something 
of  the  Judge  who  will  act  on  that  solemn  occasion  ;  and  if  the  lavv  when  fair- 
ly interpreted  gives  no  hope  to  the  impenitent  transgressor,  we  shall  find  that 
there  is  as  little  ground  to  hope  from  the  character  of  the  Judge.     ^  ,, 

1.  He  Js  the  Latogiver — the  author  of  this  sacred  code  whicli'ta'kes  cogni- 
sance of  the  thoughts,  words  and  actions  of  every  man,  in  every  age,  and  un- 
der all  circumstances.  The  disposition  of  a  lawgiver  is  nowhere  batter  made 
known  than  in  the  laws  which  he  enacts;  and  hence  we  have  the  attributea 
of  God  pxhibifed  iHtfiese  sacred  records.  The  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart  which  the  precepts  of  the  Bible  display  is  proofof  the  djKirie 
omniscience,  and  consequently  of  the  impossibility  of  the  sinner's  escaping  de- 
tection. Their  fitness  to  promote  the  happiness  of  men  and  the  glory  o|' iho 
Creator,  which  is  tlier  great  end  in  view,  is  evidence  ot  the  divine  wisdogi. — 
Theirperfect  purity  shows  that  God  is  in  his  very  nature  opposed 'to  sin  and 

,will  make  it  the  objoC-t  dfhis  everlasting  vengeance.     HisOjh'^tred  to  sin  does 
*  ,,pot  arise  merely  from  its  opposition  to  his  legislative  authority,-  but  frontiMts 
!?i»6ing' a  violation  of  fl-hat  is  right  and  intrinsically  excellent.     Theretbrehe 
has  arrayed  against  it  the  whole  weight  of  his  authority  an'd.all  his  attributes 
stand  pledgedjfer'Tis  puninfrment.     All   sin  is  a  violation  of  his  law;  but  an 
act  which  is  wrong,  when  com.ffiitted  witli  a  knowledge  of  the  written  lajf'' 
would  be  wrong  ifcominitiea  inlieothpnish  ignorance,  or  under  any  circum- 
stances.    In  the  former  case  however  it  is  aggravated  by  a  wilful  contempt 
'■      of  his  authority  with  which  the  IS  wfe  clothed  ;  and  therefore  it  is  deserving 
of  severer  punishment.  .    .,-, 

2.  ffe  is  Lord  of  all ;  and  thisi*ia  iloctrine'  which  is  taught  not  only  by 
revelation  but  by  the  light  of  nature;  for  a  heathen  declared  that  while  the 
government  of  kings  extends  ovet  their.partieular  subjects  the  government  of 
Jupiter  extends  over  kmgs  themselves.*"  That  the  Creator  has  a  perfect  right 
to  govern  and  dispose  of  men  and  their  affairs  as  he  sees  best,  no  sober  think- 
ino^meUv  will  deny.  He  has  been  exercising.Ohis  right  pver  since  the  crea- 
tion ;  and, 'as  the  absolute  sovereign  of  tlwiltf  verse,  he  will,  in  the  day  ot 
judgment,  maintam  the  autligjity  and  the  honor  of  the  laws  which  he  has  or- 
dained. .. 

3.  He  is  a  God  of  truth;  and  he  has  therefore  given  ue  just  a§^  informa- 
tion  respecting  tlxe  principles  of  his  government,  and  the  JMm  oP  which 
p.lone  pardon  n^y  be  extended  to  the  transgressor,  and  eteriraTTne  obtained; 


294  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

as  will  be  verified  hereafter  in  the  experience  of  ail  the  human  race  and  be- 
fore the  universe  ;  for  since  the  principles  on  which  he  deals  with  men  as  mo- 
ral anfonts  are  universal  in  their  nature,  they  are  no  doubt  universally  known- 
Tlie  gospel  is  unquestionably  well  known  in  the  heavenly  world ;  for  the  an- 
gels are  ministering  spiiit.--,  sent  forth  to  minister  unto  those  who  are  heirs  of 
salvation;  but  if  they  knew  not  the  law,  and  the  gospel  too,  they  could  not  be 
fit  for  the  service,  noi  could  they  rejoice  at  the  advancement  ot  the  Redeem- 
er's kingdom.  Devils  are  opposers  of  Christ's  kingdojn — opposers  of  his  ser- 
vants, of  his  honor,  and  of  his  interests  in  the  world  ;  and  therefore  we  must 
believe  that  they  are  acquainted  with  the  gospel  method  of  salvation.  Now 
if  the  moral  law,  and  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life,  as  exhibited  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  are  known  to  angels  above  and  angels  below,  is  it  not  more 
than  probable  that  the  Lord  of  all  will  glorify  himself  before  all  these  moral 
agents  by  conferring  the  blessings  promised  to  his  saints  and  by  inflicting  the 
punishment  threatened  to  the  wicked.  Again,  God  made  all  things  for  the 
advancement  of  his  eternal  glory — th»  heavenly  world  with  all  its  furniture, 
and  this  lower  world  with  all  that  it  contains,  his  decrees  with  the  execution 
thereof  as  exhibited  in  creation,  providence,  and  redemption  ;  and  his  law  and 
gosgel  with  all  their  promises  and  threateningsare  the  ways  and  means  which 
he  has  provided  tor  accomplishing  this  object ;  but  if  the  God  of  the  Bible  and 
of  the  universe  is  a  God  ot  truth  he  can  neither  exaggerate  nor  conceal  any 
thing  that  ought  to  be  known,  nor  convey  his  communications  to  men  in  lan- 
guage calculated  to  make  a  vague  or  incorrect  impression  when  received  in 
its  most  obvious  meaning;  and  this  is  a  matter  which  we  suppose  will  not  be 
disputed  by  any  man  of  common  sense  and  common  honesty.  If  then  he  is  a-  V 
God  ot  truth,  and  if  the  law  is  holy,  just,  and  good,  the  judgment  must  pro- 
ceed according  to  the  plain  sense  or  import  of  the  law.  We  are  told  that  his 
truth  endureth  forever;  and  we  have  seen  that  the  woTdJbfpver,  when  ap- 
j^ed  to  that  of  which  such  a  thing  can  be  predicated,  signifies  endless  exis- 
tence or  duration  :  therefore  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  will  have  no  end, 
or  it  will  bo  co-eval  with  their  existence. 

4.  lie  is  aGod  of/ai/A/u/ness.  Ps.  cxixvSO. —  Thy  faithfulness  is  unto 
all  generations.  If  he  is  faithful,  he  must  fulfil  all  that  he  has  spoken,  with- 
out partiality  or  respect  of  persons,  so  that  all  his  creatures  may  know  what 
to  expect ; — that  none  may  have  encouragement  to  transgress;  and  that  those 
whoare  obedient  may  rely  on  his  promises  with  entire  confidence.  -jg^ 

5.  He  is  a  God  of  almighty  power'  and  perfect  integrity.  Job  xxxiv.  12- 
Neither  loill  the  Almighty  pervert  judgment.  If  the  law  is  equitable  and 
immutable  in  its  character;  if  .the  sentence,  so  far  as  can  be  gathered  from 
the  face  of  the  sacred  record;  iftil^  be  final,  that  is,  irrevcrsablc,  and  intermi- 
nable in  its  results;  and  if  the  Judge  is  omnipotent,  and  vvill  not  pervert 
judgment,  the  impenilciit  transgressor  can  have  no  hope. 

0.  He  is  a  Gixl  of^  goodness.  Mat.  .xix.  17. —  There  is  none  good  but  one, 
that  is  God^.gnd  this  seems  to  express  the  aggregate  of  all  his  attributes; 
for  when  IVI^es  desired  to  see  his  glory  he  told  him  that  he  .^vould  make  all 

X 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  iiiia 

11  iS  GOODNESS  to  poss  hofoTQ  IliVn.  Goodness  and  mercy  may  be  imderstooJ 
as  signifying  essentially  the  same  thinj;  for  mercy  is  goodness  exercised  in  a 
particular  way,  or  extended  to  a  particular  class  of  pert-ons,  viz :  liie  guilty 
and  the  miserable ;  but  while  God  is  essentially  good,  that  is,  disposed  to 
communicate  happiness  to  his  creatures,  it  never  could  have  been  known, 
without  revelation,  whether  his  goodness  could  be,  consistently  with  his  other 
attributes,  or  with  the  safety  and  happiness  of  the  universe,  extended  so  tar 
in  any  case  as  to  pardon  the  transgressor  of  his  law,  turn  him  away  from  the 
error  of  his  ways,  and  restore  him  to  purity  and  happiness;  and  being  in  its 
very  nature  a  sovereign  act,  that  is,  depending  on  his  mere  good  pleasure,  it 
cannot  be  universal,  or  at  least  it  must  be  suspended  on  or  include  ce?tajin 
conditions  on  the  part  of  the  recipient.  Of  course  those  who  refuse  to  com- 
ply with  the  terms  forfeit  the  mercy  ofTered  ;  and  for  such  there  appears  to  be 
no  remedy ;  for  if  the  offers  of  mercy  and  the  state  of  probation  are  to  be  con- 
tinued until  all  are  restored,  what  purpose  will  be  answered  l)y  the  general 
judgment  1  or  if  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  subsequent  to  that  event  is  to 
be  disciplinary  why  not  inflict  thenecessary  amount  of  suffering  herel  These 
are  questions  which  will  not  be  readily  answered,  because  there  is  nothing  in 
the  Bible,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  or  in  the  unbiassed  dictates  of  enligHliBed 
conscience,  that  can  furnish  a  satisfactory  answer. 

Hence  those  who  advocate  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation  take  different 
grounds. — Some  contending  that  all  will  be  saved  by  the  atonement  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  that  there  will  be  no  future  sufferings;  while  others,  not  being a- 
ble  to  reconcile  this  either  with  the  forebodings  of  conscience,  or  with  the  dic- 
tates of  reason  and  revelation,  take  the  ground  that  all  will  be  eventually  re- 
stored by  sxpiating  their  own  sins,  or  by  bearing  the  penalty  of  the  law  in 
their  own  persons.  Now  these  iwo  schemes  are  utterly  inconsistent  with 
each  other;  for,  if  men  can  expiate  their  own  sins,  an  atonement  is  unneces- 
sary; but  if  a  sufficient  atonement  has  actually  been  made  for  all,  it  must,  in 
justice,  secure  all  from  torment;  and  these  schemes  are  both  so  manifestly  in- 
consistent with  the  Bible,  and  with  the  common  sentiments  of  mankind,  that 
the  advocates  of  neither  appear  to  be  satisfied  with  their  own  arguments.— 
The  Bible  gives  no  intimation  of  pardon  except  through  the  merits  of  Jesua 
Christ ;  and  none  are  justified  on  this  ground  except  by  fdith  ;  but  it  is  not 
contended,  by  the  advocates  of  the  doctrine  in  question,  that  the  offers  of  par- 
don will  be  made,  or  that  faith,  which  has  those  offers  for  its  (Object,  will  be 
exercised  after dealh.  We  find  no  intimation  of  such  a  thing  in  the  gospel; 
and  to  contend  for  it  would  be  mere  presumption ;  but  the  gospel  speaks  of 
multitudes  who,  having  rejected  the  offers  of  salvation  in  this  world,  shall,  at 
the  judgment  day,  be  cast  into  outer  darknes?,  where  there  is  weeping,  wail- 
ing, and  gnashing  of  teetii  forever;  and  of  course  this  scheme  cannot  be  main- 
tained with  any  semblance  of  truth.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  atonement  be 
rejected,  it  seems  to  me,  the  Bible  must  be  rejected  also,  so  far  at  least  as  this 
matter  is  concerned;  and  the  advocates  of  the  other  scheme  are^thus  left  ut- 
terly in  the  dark;  for  we  know  nothing  satisfactorily  ofGod,or  a  future  state. 


296  LIFE  OP  DAV^  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

or  the  deserts  of  sin,  or  any  thing  else  relating  the  condition  and  destiny  of 
man,  except  frem  revelation.  Then  to  tali<  of  men  expiating  their  own  guilt, 
or  bearing  the  penalty  of  the  law  in  their  own  persons,  and  paying  tlie  utter- 
most fartliing,  when  they  have  no  idea  of  the  amount,  or  of  how  much  lies 
upon  this  side  of  that  uttermost  tarthmg,  is  talking  at  random,  if  it  be  not  gross- 
ly impious. 

The  superlative  goodnefs  of  God  cannot  consist  in  pardoning  all  indiscrim- 
inately, or  regardless  of  flieir  character,  but  in  providing  a  random  which  is 
sufficient  for  all  and  which  all  tflay  accept  on  terms  that  will  effectually  se- 
cure their  future  obedience;  but  if  that  is  scornfully  rejeojtibd  they  must  be 
rlefih^o  perish,  and  that  without  remedy;  tor  the  nature  and  design  of  the  atone- 
ment, as  set  forth  in  the  Scripiures ;  the.  tone  in  which  the  offers  of  pardon  are 
made:  and  the  language  in  which  the  results  are  described,  as  well  as  all 
analogy,  so  far  as  we  edn  trace  if,  teach  us  that  the  plan  of  salvation  by  Je- 
sus Christ  includes  all  the  provision  that  God  in  his  boundless  love  and  mercy 
ever  will  make  for  the  recovery  of  our  fallen  race  ;  and  consequently  th^  con- 
dition of  th  )se  who  reject  this  salvation  must  be  hopeless.  Then  we  may  rest 
assured  that,  as  it  is  in  human  goveraments,  when  traitors  have  refused  the 
only  terms  on  which  pardon  could  be  safely  or  honorably  oflered,  the  good  of 
the  country,  the  honor  of  the  executive,  and  the  stability  ot  the  governjoent 
require  that  they  should  be  cut  off,  or  bnnished  to  a  returnlegs  distance,  so  the 
goodness  of  God  requ  res  that  he  should  inflict  on  the  despisers  of  his  grace  the 
punishment  which  they  deserve,  and  bani.->h  them  forever  from  the  glory  ot 
his  power,  for  the  good  of  his  moral  kinjrdom,  and  for  his  own  eternal  honor. 

7.  The  Judge  is  immutable.  Job  xxiii,  13,  He  is  of  one  mind;  and  who 
can  him  Himl  This  perfection  of  Deity  is  that  by  which  he  has  been  and 
will  continue  to  be  just  what  he  is;  but  if  he  is  unchangeable,  he  is  now  and 
will  forever  be  the  same  that  he  was  when  he  gave  the  moral  law,  or  the 
scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  It  was  his  will  then  that  the  vvick- 
ed  should  go,  {fiskolasin  aionion,)  into  everlasting  punishment;  and  therefore 
it  is  now  and  will  forever  be  his  pleasure. 

Finally.  He  is  jusl !  This  expresses  his  disposition  to  give  unto  all  their 
due — blessings  to  whom  blessings,  and  curses  to  whom  curses  are  due.  If,  as 
the  advocates  of  universal  restoration  affirm,  the  sufferings  of  the  wicked  after 
death  are  altogether  disciplinary  and  intended  to  resuk  in  their  final  happi- 
ness, how  great  a  blessing  was  the  deluge  to  the  old  world !  what  a  singular 
mercy  to  the  Sodomites  was  tliO  destruction  of  their  city  by  fire  and  brim- 
stone! What  a  distinguished  favor  to  Korah  and  his  company  that  the  earth 
opened  and  swallowed  ttiem  up  alive  !  and  how  ought  impenitent  sinners  in 
hell  to  rejoice  that  although  they  are  surrounded  by  the  flames  which  the  Sa- 
■ra/Svir  said,  shall  never  be  quenched,  and  although  they  feel  every  moment  the  . 
^fiwings  of  the  worm  which  he  said  shall  never  die,  they  are  nevertheless 
enduring  only  a  disciplinary  punishment  which  shall  result  in  their  everlasting 
good  !  But  perhaps  the  subject  ia  lob  serious  to  be  treated  in  this  way;  and 
therefore  I  would  ask  the  advocates  of  the  doctrine  which  we  believe  to  be  so 


LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELI-,  D.D.  -lU  t 

talse  and  dangerous,  how  do  tliey  know  tliat  eternal  punitiliincnt  is  inconsi?- 
tont  with  justice?  They  admit  that  the  Jiulge  of  nil  the  earth  will  do  right: 
what  is  tlie  criterion  by  wliicli  they  jiulgo  of  right  and  wrong  in  this  case?  If 
it  is  the  Bible,  and  if  that  any  where  teaches  that  eternal  punis-ljnieht  is  v,n- 
jnst,  we  would  thar.k  thern  to  refer  us  to  chatiter  and  veree.  If  thoy  rcJy 
upon  their  own  notions  of  justice,  we  would  ask  them  if  they  feel  perfectly 
competent  to  decide  the  matter]  Can  they  survey  the  whole  empire  of  Jeho- 
vah, so  as  to  comprehend  at  a  glance  all  the  bearings  of  fin  upon  the  peace 
and  welfare  of  the  moral  universe,  and  to  say,  with  entire  certainty,  what  de- 
gree or  duratioaof  pimishment  it  deservesl  or  would  they,  ifdisinterested,  al- 
low a  criminal  in  any  case  to  decide  as  to  the  punishment  which  he  eboald 
receive]  He  that  helieveth  not  is  condemned  alreadij,  and  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  on  him.  This  is  a  sentence  of  death;  lor  the  soul  that  sinneth,  it 
shall  die.  We  would  considers  man  as  wanting  in  good  sense,  if  not  absolutely 
deranged,  who  had  been  condemned  in  a  court  of  justice  for  treason,  murder, 
or  any  other  crime,  the  punishment  for  which,  according  to  the  laws  of  Ihte 
country,  was  death,  if  we  heard  him  speculating  about  his  own  case,  and  as- 
serting that  it  would  be  unjust  to  put  him  to  death  for  that  or  any  other  crime, 
and  therefore  the  sentence  could  not  mean  death,  after  all,  but  a  mere  disci- 
plinary punishment  that  would  retull  in  his  restoration  to  favor.  Such  is  the 
conduct  of  those  who  advocate  the  doctrine  ot  universal  restoration;  and,  as 
pardon  is  now  offered,  it  would  surely  be  more  consistent  in  them  to  repent 
and  believe  for  themselves,  and  occupy  their  time  and  talents  in  persuading 
others  to  take  the  same  course. 

But  if  they  still  persist  in  the  same  way  of  thinking  I  would  like  to  ask 
them  where  this  disciplinary  operation  is  to  bo  performed.  Not  on  earth;  for 
according  to  their  own  admission  it  is  not  to  ta/ie  place  until  after  the  gene- 
ral judgment.  It  must  not  be  in  heaven  ;  for  nothing  is  to  be  found  or  admit- 
ted there  but  purity,  peace,  and  joy.  It  cannot  be  in  hell ;  for  if  the  punish- 
ment is  disciplinary,  and  therefore  salutary,  it  can  have  notliing  in  it  of  the 
nature  of  a  curse ;  but  the  curse  of  God  rests  on  all  who  are  sent  there.  The 
sentence  is.  Depart  yc  accursed  into  everlasting  Jire  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels;  but  we  would  feel  much  obliged  to  the  advocates  of  discipli- 
nary punishment  and  universal  restoration  for  an  explanation  of  this  matter; 
and  perhaps  it  might  be  ne  disadvantage  to  their  cause. 

III.  The  third  tiling  proposed  was  to  shew  that  the  ungodly  when  tried  by 
such  a  law  and  before  such  a  Judge,  cannot  stand ;  but  so  much  has  been  al- 
ready said  that  more  seems  to  be  unnecessary.  If  my  hearers  recollect  what 
has  been  said  on  the  law,  which  will  be  the  rule  of  the  judgment,  and  on  the 
character  of  God  who  will  bo  the  Judge,  they  are  no  doubt  satisticd  that  the 
sinner  cannot  be  acquitted,  and  that  he  cannot  escape.  lie  must  either  ob- 
tain an  interest  in  the  atonement  after  he  has  been  sent  into  outer  darkness, — 
penitent  or  impenitent, — and  be  saved  on  that  ground,  which  as  we  have  seen 
is  contrary  to  the  text  and  to  the  whole  tenor  of  the  Bible ;  or  he  must  be  con- 
demned to  suffer  until  he  makes  expiation  for  his  own  sins,  by  satisfying  the 
38 


:^9i>  LIFE  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

penalty  of  tiie  divine  law,  which  we  have  shewn  to  be  impossible ;  or  he  must 
^=llfte^  forover;  and  this  we  think  has  been  proved  to  be  the  obvious  import  of 
scripture  denunciations  on  this  subject,  and  is  in  full  accordance  witli  the  dic- 
tates of  reason  and  of  eniiglitened  conscience. 

There  is  no  man  of  candor  and  sober  reflection  who  will  deny  that  he  has 
violated  the  law  of  God.  The  very  term  restoration  implies  that  all  are  now 
in  a  lapst'd  and  sinful  condition  ;  and  before  they  can  enjoy  the  divine  favor 
tuo  tilings  must  bp  done  :  justice  must  be  satisfied  ;  and  their  moral  charac- 
ter must  be  changed.  Both  are  indispensable;  and  the  atonement  of  Jesus 
(!;hri?t  is  never  applied  to  a  sinner  here  for  his  pardon  without  the  renewing 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  but  for  a  sinner  to  do  either  himself  seems  to  be, 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  impossible.  The  law  will  forever  demand  unceasing 
and  perfect  obedience;  and  God  as  the  great  ruler  of  the  universe  will  cer- 
tainly enforce  his  own  law;  but  it  is  difficult  to  eonceive  how  a  sinner  can 
discharge  the  active  duties  required  of  him  while  in  a«tate  of  intense  suffer- 
ing. He  cannot  do  it  here ;  and  how  he  can  do  it  in  another  state  ofexistence 
wliere  his  sufTcringe  will  he  incoiicoivably  greater  than  any  he  endures  in 
thislite,  it  belongs  to  the  advocates  of  this  doctrine  to  explain;  butifhe  cannot, 
wliile  .suffering  for  his  past  sins,  comply  with  all  the  requirements  of  the  law, 
his  guilt  must  be  increasing.  The  ndtion  therefore  that  men  can  expiate  their 
own  sins  by  suffering  the  penalty  of  the  law  and  thus  be  restored  to  the  divine 
favor  is  a  n-.ost  infatuated  one — a  fatal  presumption;  for  although  the  law  pro- 
duces unminglod  happiness  if  obeyed,  it  condemns  the  sinner  when  violated, 
and  leaves  him  under  condemnation,  without  containing  any  provision  for  par- 
don, or  giving  any  intimation  of  I'uture  restoration.  Of  course  it  must  spend 
its  wiiole  force  on  the  impenitent  offender;  or  lie  must  meet  the  whole  a- 
mount  ot  its  claims  both  for  service  and  for  sufieriiig;  for  he  is  chargeable 
with  nnmherless  transgressions  and  he  is  still  under  an  undiminished  obliga- 
tion to  obedience.  Now  if  tiie  sufferings  of  men  here,  though  the  circum- 
t-tances  are  so  much  more  favorable,  have  no  tendency  to  produce  a  spirit  of 
obedience,  or  the  love  of  God  and  holiness  in  the  suflerer,  without  the  pardon- 
ing mercy  and  the  renewing  grace  of  God,  how  can  their  sufferings  produce 
such  anelTect,  where  no  mercy  will  be  offered,  not  a  drop  of  comfort  be  min- 
gled with  their  torments,  no  hallowing  or  restraining  influence  be  excited, 
and  no  sympathy  manifested  on  the  part  of  holy  beings'?  With  these  facts  in 
view,  whetiier  this  scheme  is  a  wise  and  a  safe  one,  or  a  dire  infatuation — a 
^i!ly  refuge  of  those  who  are  unwilling  to  forsake  their  sins,  judge  ye:  and 
wo  ask  nothing  more  of  you  tiian  an  honest  examination  in  the  fear  of  God  and 
by  the  light  of  revealed  truth. 

We  have  seen  that  by  the  law,  so  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the  face  of 
llic  record,  there  is  no  hope;  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin  :  By  it 
too  is  condemnation  ;  and  according  to  no  law,  human  or  divine,  can  a  man 
live,  when  he  is  condemned  by  it  to  </i>.  If  he  lives  it  must  be  through  the 
mercy  of  the  supreine  executive,  or  from  the  want  of  power  on  his  part  to  e.\-- 


LIFE  OF  DAVID    CALDWELL,  D.D.  ^'PH 

ecute  the  sentence.  It  will  not  be  pretended  liiat  tlierc  is  a  want  ot'jjowcr  in 
God;  for  he  is  acknowledged  to  he  omnipotent.  Then  the  only  re.nainin_Lr 
scheme  is  the  mercy  of  God  in  and  by  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Cliriat;  or  rather 
the  universal  design  of  tlie  atonement  as  a  remedy  for  tlio  wbolerace  of  man; 
but  since  all  we  know  about  the  atonement,  either  as  to  its  naiure  or  design,  i-i 
from  the  Bible,  we  must  recollect  that,  according  to  tlie  representations  tiiero 
made.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  available  to  those  only  who  now  repent  and  be- 
leive  with  the  heart  unto  righteousness.  Behold  now  is  the  accfptcd  lime  : 
behold  NOW  is  the  day  of  salvation.  In  the  next  place,  it  is  invariably  con- 
nected with  regeneration  by  the  spirit  of  God.  Such  a  renovation  however  is 
not  admitted  by  the  advocates  of  universal  salvation  who  take  this  ground; 
for,  so  far  as  their  views  are  understood,  they  do  not  appear  to  believe  in  any 
renewing  influence  of  the  divine  spirit,  nor  to  give  any  evidence  of  evangeli- 
cal repentance,  or  of  having  their  consciences  sprinkled  from  dead  works,  by 
the  peace-speaking  blood  of  the  cross.  If  the  whole  r;ice  of  man  is  to  be  saved 
simply  by  virtue  of  the  atonement,  irrespective  of  moral  character,  why  are 
there  so  many  and  such  strong  declarations  respecting  the  necessity  of  present 
conversion  and  ot  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  effect  it?  Exccjit  ye  re- 
pent ye  shall  all  likewise  perish  ;  and,  except  ye  he  born  again  ye  cannot  sec 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Why  has  such  a  system  of  means  and  influences  been 
provided,  and  why  is  so  much  importance  attached  to  the  use  of  them.  Why 
are  such  solemn  injunctions  laid  on  ministers  of  the  gospel,  to  be  faithful,  on 
pain  of  losing  their  own  souls,  in  declaring  the  whole  council  of  God  and  in  war- 
ning sinners  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come'?  Why  all  this,  if  the  future  suf- 
ferings of  the  impenitent  are  to  be  disciplinary  and  limited  in  their  duration,  or 
it  the  atonement  is  to  be  available  after  death"!  It  is  said,  loilhout  holiness  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord;  but,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  universal  restora- 
tion, how  is  that  holiness  to  be  produced  !  What  means  and  influences  are  to 
be  used]  any  thing  but  suffering  1  It  has  no  such  tendency  here,  nor  is  it  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  the  human  mind  that  it  should  have  such  a  tendency, 
apart  from  means  and  influences  of  an  entirely  different  kind.  Will  the 
atonement  alone  be  sufficient,  even  supposing  it  to  beofiered  in  all  the  freeneys 
of  divine  compassion,  to  subdue  the  sinner's  heart  and  reconcile  him  to  God  V 
It  is  not  sufficient  here,  although  aided  by  the  combined  influence  of  goodness 
and  severity  ;  and  it  behooves  the  advocates  of  the  doctrine  we  are  opposing 
to  show  in  what  respect  the  circumstances  in  a  future  state  will  be  more  fa- 
vorable, or  on  what  principles,  according  to  either  of  these  schemes,  a  salutary 
change  will  be  effected  there  which  cannot  be  produced  in  this  world. — It  it> 
said  too  of  some  that  it  toould  have  been  belter  for  them  if  they  hail  never 
been  born ;  but  could  this  be  said  with  truth  if  they  will  be  saved  by  the  atone- 
ment of  Jesus  Christ,  or  even  if  they  are  to  be  released  from  the  dark  prison 
of  hell  in  any  definite  period;  for  the  longest  i)eriod  of  time  of  which  we  cini 
conceive  bears  no  proportion  to  eternity.  These  arc  things  which  demand  ex- 
planation from  those  who  advocate  the  doctrine  of  universal  restoration ;  yet 
no  rational  explanation  has  been  given  or  even  attempted  ;  and  wc  apprehend 


3-)0  LIKK  OF  DAVID  CALDWELL.  D.D. 

tljiit  none  will  be  given,  because  the  subject  does  not  admit  of  it,  and  wo  must 
bo  met  l)y  bare  assertions  or  worse  than  idle  declamation. 

f3ut  if  God  has  made  all  tlie  provision  that  he  ever  intends  to  make,  and  if 
Ijo  is  doing  every  thing  in  this  world  that  he  intends  to  do  for  the  purpose  of 
ciiecting  a  radical  change  in  the  moral  character  and  condition  of  men  as  sub- 
jects of  his  government,  which,  according  to  our  understanding  of  ihe  Bible, 
is  the  fact,  then  all  is  consistent;  and  the  decisions  of  the  judgment  day, —the 
fjveilasting  joys  of  heaven,  and  the  endless  pains  of  hell,  will  be  only  the  ap- 
propriate results  of  the  present  system.  .  The  instructioi.s  which  we  have  rc- 
CL'ivodare  plain,  an;!  tliey  are  ample:  sufficient  warning  has  been  given;  the 
pith  of  duty  has  boon  made  plain  both  by  precept  and  by  the  example  of  the 
Sivionr;  none  need  remain  in  doubt  or  uncertainty  ;  and  none  can  have  any 
excu:^e  lor  refusing  t6  comply  with  the  terms  of  salvation,  or  for  delaying  to 
keep  the  cbmtnandments  of  God.  We  fear  not  to  meet  the  enemies  of  tiuth 
and  righfeonsness  on  the  field  of  argument,  nor  to  abide  by  the  law  and  the 
testimony;  but  the  miserable  shifts  which  they  are  obliged  to  make  in  order 
to  nvoid  this  testimony,  and  their  manifest  perversions,  or  strained  interpreta- 
tioiis  ol  a  few  detiched  passages  of  Scripture,  betrays  a  want  of  conscious 
rectitude,  and  is  a  sUong  fresuir.ptive  proof,  at  least,  that  their  cause  cannot 
be  maintained. 

In  conclusion  then,  we  would  aii'ectlonately  appeal  to  this  large  and  atten- 
tive congregation  -whether  they  will  risk  their  everlasting  wellare  on  either 
of  ihe  schemes  of  universal  restoration  which  we  have  presented,  as  fairly  as 
we  knew  How,  Ihougli  doubtless  with  much  imperfection,  and  which  we  have 
endeavored  tt  prove  tlilse  and  .dangerous  ;  or  whether  they  will  embrace  the 
present  salvation  which  is  offered  to  them,  and  in  doing  which  they  run  no 
risk.  We  need  not  ask  yon  which  would  be  the  course  of  wisdom,  for  we  feel 
confident  that  every  sober  thinking  man  would  say  at  once  that  the  latter  is 
the  most  prudent  course.  Besides,  if  you  need  salvation  at  all  yru  need  it 
now.  If  sin  is  an  evil  you  need  to  be  delivered  from  it  now  ;  if  holiness  is 
necessary  at  any  period  of  your  existence  it  is  necessary  now  ;  if  the  hopes 
and  consolations  of  the  gospel  are  ever  desirable  they  are  desirable  now,  while 
you  are  beset  by  tliC  perplexities,  tribulations,  and  sorrows  of  life ;  and  to 
continue  in  (he  practice  of  sin  when  deliverance  is  offered  to  you  on  the  most 
easy  and  honorable  terms,  is  not  only  hazardous,  but  ungrateful  and  wicked. 
If  th/>re  are  pleasures  in  religion  inconceivably  greater  than  any  this  world, 
can  afford,  of  vvhicii  you  caojiot  doubt,  we  expect  you  as  intelligent  men  and 
women  to  give  up  the  litter,  so  far  as  they  are  sinful  or  worthless,  in  exchange 
lor  the  former,  and  to  do  it  without  delay.  If  there  is  hope  in  Christ,  not 
of  a  restoration  to  the  divine  favor  at  some  distant  period  of  eternity,  when 
millions  of  years  or  of  ajjes  shall  ha\M3  been  spent  by  you  in  torment,  but  of 
entering,  as  soon  as  yon  quit  this  mortal  stage,  into  perfect  and  everlasting 
rest,  we  beseech  you  now  to  be  reconciled  with  God ;  for  you  need  it  while 
passing  through  the  temptations,  and  the  dark  and  perplexing. scenes  of  ihii-- 


LIFE  OV  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D.  301 

world;  and  especially  will  you  need  it  wlien  called  to  pass  through  the  dark 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

You  may  have  to  part  with  some  pleasures,  or  with  some  Ihinnfs  that  you 
have  been  accustomed  to  rejjard  as  pleasures;  but  they  are  sinful  gratifica- 
tions or  mere  illusions.  They  are  at  least  unsubstantial  and  transitory.  They 
will  be  followed  by  a  sting,  or  elude  your  grasp  like  a  phantou),  leaving  you 
mortified  by  disappointment,  or  tortured  by  remorse.  The  pleas-urcs  of  religion 
are  pure,  substantia'  and  abiding — not  subject  to  change  or  fluctuation,  except 
from  the  workings  of  your  own  wicked  and  deceitful  hearts;  and  proceednig 
from  the  throne  of  God,  though  they  may  commence  in  rills  here,  as  sprinjis  is- 
sue from  the  mountains,  they  will  flow  on,  rugmenliitgasyou  advancr,  until  they 
will  be  lost  in  the  boundless  ocean  of  God's  eternal  love.  At  all  events  we 
■wish  you  to  make  sure  work  for  eternity,  because,  without  present  justifica- 
tion by  faith  in  Christ,  no  man  can  be  certain  that  he  may  not  be  mistaken,  or 
go  down  to  the  grave  with  a  lie  in  his  right  hand ;  and  a  mistake  here  may 
be  fatal;  for  you  cannot  return  to  earth  from  the  world  of  spirits  that  you  may 
enjoy  another  season  of  the  means  of  grace,  or  that  you  may  repent  and  do  the 
works  which  appropriately  belong  to  this  stage  of  ycur  existence.  Those 
who  preach  to  you  the  expiation  ofsm  by  your  own  sufferings  in  eternity,  and 
a  consequent  restoration  to  the  divine  favor,  dare  not  assure  you  that  such 
will  be  the  fact;  for  that  they  cannot  do  without  a  Thus  sailh  the  Lord,  and 
they  cannot  refer  you  to  any  such  declaration  within  the  lids  of  the  Bible  ; 
but  we  DO  assure  you,  on  the  authority  of  Him  who  cannot  lie,  that  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  his  son,  cleanseth  from  all  sin;  and  that  if  you  repent  and  be- 
lieve the  gospel,  you  shall  escape  the  second  death. 

We  appeal  therefore  to  your  own  good  sense  on  this  subject.  There  is  no 
necessity  for  your  sufliering  at  all  after  you  leave  this  world  nor  of  running 
any  risk  of  obtaining  the  divine  favor  by  sufiering  the  punishment  due  to  your 
crimes,  or  by  any  other  means,  after  you  shall  have  passed  the  boundaries  of 
time.  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  will  now  free  you  from  condemnation,  if 
applied  to  by  faith,  and  the  spirit  of  God  will  sanctify  and  lead  you  to  glory  ; 
but  you  do  not  know  that  the  fires  of  hell,  or  the  torments  of  the  future  world, 
will  produce  any  such  efTect,  Which  then  do  you  consider  the  safest  and  best 
plan — that  of  being  restored  to  purity  and  happiness  at  some  distant  period  of 
eternity  by  your  own  sufferings,  which,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  is  extremely  un- 
certain ;  or  that  which  we  propose  to  you  on  the  express  authority  of  God 
himself,  of  a  full  and  free  pardon  with  the  joys  of  redemption  here,  a  complete 
deliverance  from  all  evil  at  death,  and  an  immediate  entrance  on  perfect  and 
everlasting  bliss.  The  retributions  of  eternity  are  serious  matters ;  and  no 
wise  man  will  approach  them  rashly,  or  unnecessarily  jeopardize  his  siiul. — 
The  watjoflife  is  above  to  the  wise,  thai  he  may  drparl  from  hell  beneath. — 
Can  those  be  sincere  friends  to  you,  or  to  the  cause  of  truth,  who  would  send 
you  to  expiate  your  own  sins  by  sufiering  the  wrath  of  God  in  eternity,  you 
know  not,  nor  can  they  tell  you  how,  much  or  how  long,  instead  of  directing 
you  at  once  to  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  for  your  present  justification  be- 


303  LIFE    OF  DAVID  CALDWELL,  D.D. 

fore  God,  and  to  the  abounding  grace  of  God  in  Christ  for  sanctification,  com- 
fort, and  every  thing  you  need.  But  to  dvvell  longer  on  this  subject,  would 
be  trespassing  on  your  patience ;  and  I  hope  it  is  not  necessary.  The  light 
of  eternity  will  soon  dispel  all  the  errors  and  delusions  of  time,  as  the  mists 
and  phantoms  of  night  vanish  before  the  rising  sun  ;  and  tfierefore  we  wish 
you  to  attend  at  once  to  the  warning  voice,  and  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come, 
while  it  is  yet  to  come.  Betake  yourselves  to  the  hiding  place  which  God  in 
his  infinite  mercy  has  provided.  Make  haste  and  delay  not  to  keep  his  com- 
mandments. Hearken  and  your  soul  skull  live.  To  day,  if  you  will  hear 
his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  lest  he  swear  in  his  torath  that  you  shall 
never  enter  into  his  rest. 


INDEX. 

Academy,  Liberty  Hall,  p.  193.  Alamance,  church  of,  orgfanizod,  24;  Arch- 
dale,  John,  Governor  of  N.  0,59;  Alamance,  battle  ot,  149. 

Berkley,  Sir  William,  54,  81 ;  Baptists,  90. 

Caldwell,  David, — birth  and  parentage,  10 — education,  18 — licensure,  21 — 
ordinanaiion,  22 — installation,  23;  Caldwells,  Andrew,  John,  Alexan- 
der, 11;  Charter  of  Worth  Charolina,  52;  Craighead,  Rev.  Alexander, 
27;  Craighead,  Thomas,  28;  Culpepper,  John,  rebellion  of,  .56  ;  Con- 
stitution, State,  190  ;  Federal,  24.5. 

De  Graffenreid,  Cliiistoplicr,  84. 

Ecclesiastical  condition  of  North  Carolina  before  the  Revolution,  47;  Ed- 
mundson,  William,  56. 

Family  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  afflictions  of,  258 ;  Fannen,  CoJ.  242 ;  Fox,  George,  56; 
French  liiionenots,  84. 

Germans,  84,  89;  Guilford  voluuteers,  224. 

Huffuenots,  84;  Hus-band,  Harmon,  his  character,  167. 

Infidelity,  167,  2-52. 

Jackson,  Doct.,  240;  Johnson,  Sir  Nathaniel,  becomes  governor  of  N.  C,  61. 

Lee,  Col.,  his  services  iu  Guilford,  227;  Locke's  Constitutions,  .55;  London, 
bii^iop  of,  80. 

Marriage,  laws  respecting,  72 ;  Martinville,  battle  of,  230;  Moravians,  88  ; 
Methodists,  90. 

North  Carolina  settled,  51, 

Orange — Presbytery  of  Orange,  96. 

Palatines,  84 ;  Piles,  Col.  defeat  of,  212;  Presbyterian  Ministers,  licensure, 
&c.,  92,  95;  Printing  press  first  brought  into  N.  C,  78. 

Queen's  College,  77;  Quakers,  54,56,  04,  83. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  attempts  to  settle  N.  C.  48 ;  Regulation,  102  ;  Regu- 
lators, their  character,  163;  Revivals  of  religion,  203. 

Scotch-Irish  86;  Scotch  87;  Statistical  Report  of  Orange  Presbytery  in 
1784,  250. 

Tyrone  and  Tyrconnel,  Earls  of,  86. 

Williams,  Lewis,  36. 

Yeamans,  Sir  John,  .54. 


ERRATA 


Page  21 — bottom  line,  for  "nun,"  rend  mim. 
»       28— 19th  line  from  top,  for  "1776,' 


top,  for  "1776,"  read  1766. 

46 — 11th  line  from  bottom,  for  "is  but,"  read  hut  is. 

79 — 13th  line  from  bottom,  for  "then  at,"  read  then  and  at. 

89 — 18th  line  from  top,  for  "Tinzendorf,"  (in  some  copies,)  read  Zin- 
zendorf. 

89 — 10th  line  from  top,  for  "Greenville"  read  Granville. 

92 — 3th  line  from  bottom,  for  "Pnythuss,"  read  Poythress. 

96 — 6th  line  from  bottom,  for  "1771,"  read  1770. 

97 — 16th  line  from  top,  for  "  troublesome,"  (in  some  copies)  read 

troubUms. 
106 — 13th  lino  from  bottom,  for  "institutions,"  read  instructions, 
107 — 7th  line  from  top,  for  "indictment,"  read  indictments. 
116 — 12th  line  from  bottom,  for  "manner,"  road  manners. 
125 — 18th  line  from  top,  for  "branches"  read  breaches. 
129 — 15th  line  fiom  top,  for  "opposed"  read  oppressed. 
137 — 7th  line  from  bottom,  for  "oration,"  read  ovation. 
140— 2nd  line  from  bottom,  for  "Storh,"  read  Starch. 
144—  6th  lino  from  top,  for  "Paya'ce,"  read  Payne. 
173 — 17th  line  from  top,  for  "Parish,"  (in  a  few  copies)  read  Popish. 
278— 8th  line  from  bottom,  for  "High  Commissioners,"   read  High 
Commissions. 


